Vitamin E levels, thiobarbituric acid test and sensory evaluation of breast muscles from broilers fed (alpha)-tocopheryl acetate- and (beta)-carotenesupplemented diets

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary (alpha)-tocopheryl acetate and (beta)-carotene supplementation on lipid oxidation of breast meat from broilers fed lard as the fat source. Supplementation of broilers with 100 mg kg^-1 (alpha)-tocopheryl acetate increased the vitamin E levels in raw breast samples significantly (p < 0.05), whereas the presence of 1.5 mg kg^-1 dietary (beta)-carotene tended to decrease vitamin E deposition. The presence of vitamin E delayed lipid oxidation significantly, but thiobarbituric acid values of samples from broilers fed the (beta)-carotene-supplemented diet did not differ from those of control samples. Vitamin E reduced sensory meat rancidity, whilst vitamin E, (beta)carotene and their combination modified meat texture. The results show the effectiveness of dietary (alpha)-tocopheryl acetate supplementation in protecting broiler meat against lipid oxidation.