Dietary betaine supplementation improves meat quality of transported broilers through altering muscle anaerobic glycolysis and antioxidant capacity.

In order to investigate the effect of dietary betaine supplementation on growth performance, meat quality, muscle anaerobic glycolysis and antioxidant capacity of transported broilers, a total of 192 one-day-old partridge-shank-broiler-chickens were randomly divided into 3 groups for a 50-day feeding trial. The broilers in the control group were fed a basal diet, and experienced 0.75-h transport before slaughter. The broilers in the other three groups were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 500 or 1000 mg kg^-1 betaine, respectively, and experienced 3-h transport before slaughter (T, T + BET₅₀₀ or T + BET₁₀₀₀ group).

Dietary betaine supplementation increased (P < 0.05) average daily gain of broilers, and feed conversion ratio was also improved (P < 0.05) by 500 mg kg^-1 betaine supplementation. Compared with the control group, a 3-h transport increased (P < 0.05) live weight loss, serum corticosterone and cortisol concentrations, and muscle lactate and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and decreased (P < 0.05) muscle pH_24h , glycogen content and total superoxide dismutase activity. Compared with the T group, betaine supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) serum corticosterone and cortisol concentrations and muscle MDA content, and increased (P < 0.05) muscle a*_24h . In addition, 1000 mg kg^-1 betaine supplementation further decreased (P < 0.05) muscle drip loss, lactate content and lactate dehydrogenase activity, and increased (P < 0.05) muscle glutathione content and glutathione peroxidase activity.

Betaine supplementation not only improved growth performance of broilers, but also alleviated meat quality deterioration of transported broilers through altering muscle anaerobic glycolysis and antioxidant capacity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.