Assessing Breast and Thigh Meat Quality and Color of Ducks Fed a Diet Comprising Pelleted Sipjeondaebo-Tang by Product

Sipjeondaebo-tang (ST) is a traditional herbal medicine used widely for the treatment of human diseases. However, the antioxidant effect of ST has not been fully evaluated. This study was conducted to assess the quality and color during storage of breast and thigh meat from ducks fed a diet supplemented with pelleted ST. A total of 90 oneday-old Pekin ducks were divided into two groups: control group and T1 group (a basal diet + pelleted 1% ST powder). The birds were distributed among six cages, each containing 15 birds. At the end of the experiment, 18 ducks were slaughtered, and breast and thigh muscles were dissected from each carcass and stored at 4°C for 0 days and 7 days. The experiment was performed in triplicate. Following storage, there was significant difference (P<0.05) in pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity of breast meat on Day 7. For thigh meat, the pH was significantly different on Day 7. In addition, significant differences between the two groups were detected (P<0.05) in the L* (lightness) and b* (yellowness) values of breast meat from 0 through 7 days, but not for a* (redness) values. For thigh meat, the supplementation of pelleted ST in the diet did not yield a significant difference (P>0.05) in L*, a*, and b* values on Days 0–7. In contrast, pelleted ST supplementation resulted in a significant difference (P<0.05) in b* values on Day 0. In conclusion, these results suggest that the supplementation of 1% ST to the diet of Pekin ducks improves the antioxidant capacity of meat tissue (increased DPPH radical-scavenging activity and decreased TBARS) to combat lipid oxidation in duck meat during storage.