The effect of dietary turmeric on antioxidant properties of thigh meat in broiler chickens after slaughter

Two hundred and fifty‐day‐old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were used to investigate the dietary supplementation effects of different levels of 0.0 turmeric rhizome powder (TRP) (free TRP, F.TRP), 0.25 (low TRP, L.TRP), 0.5 (medium TRP, M.TRP) and 0.75% TRP (high TRP, H.TRP) or 50 mg/kg vitamin E (VE) on antioxidant properties of thigh meat in broiler chickens after slaughter. No effect of treatment was observed for the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant status (TAS) in thigh meat (P > 0.05) but all were reduced over time (P < 0.0001). A significant treatment*time interaction was observed for thigh meat GPX activity (P = 0.02). Significant effects of treatment and time were observed for malondialdehyde (MDA) content (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the treatments for thigh meat MDA content at slaughter (P > 0.05). Three days after refrigerator storage, MDA content in thigh meat of M.TRP birds was lower than that of F.TRP birds (P < 0.05). Both the M.TRP and VE birds showed a lower MDA content in thigh meat as compared with F.TRP birds 7 days after storage (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary consumption of 5 mg/kg TRP can increases the thigh meat shelf‐life storage and quality in broiler chickens after slaughter.