Effect of provitamin A biofortified maize inclusion on quality of meat from indigenous chickens

The effect of provitamin A biofortified maize (PABM) diet inclusion on meat quality in male and female Ovambo chickens at 18 and 21 wk of age was evaluated. A total of 96 13-week-old Ovambo chickens were randomly distributed into 2 treatment groups and fed on white maize (WM) diet, the control, and PABM diet, a high provitamin A carotenoid maize. There was no significant effect of PABM, sex, and age on meat pH, drip loss (%), cooking loss (%) and shear force. The PABM fed chickens had higher redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) and lower lightness (L*) in the meat and skin color. Female birds had higher (P < 0.05) L* values than males on the skin. The a* value of the PABM fed male birds increased with age (P < 0.05). The PABM diet improved the skin and muscle color of the Ovambo chicken.