Dietary supplemented and meat-added antioxidants effect on the lipid oxidative stability of refrigerated and frozen cooked chicken meat

The oxidation of fatty acids decreases the quality and shelf-life of meats. To reduce this process, dietary supplemented and meat-added antioxidants were evaluated on the lipid oxidative stability of cooked chicken meat. Broilers were fed 2 levels of vitamin E (10 or 100 mg.kg(-1) of feed; VE-10 and VE-100, respectively) or oregano essential oil (100 mg.kg-1 of feed; OR-100). Additionally, honey (3%) or butylated hydroxytoluene (0.02%; BHT) were added to chicken meat from the control treatment (VE-10). Breast meat was ground, formed into patties, and cooked on electric grills until it reached an internal temperature of 74 degrees C. Cooked meat was cooled at room temperature, packaged, and stored under refrigeration for 9 d (4 degrees C) or frozen for 45 d (-20 degrees C). The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substance test was used to quantify malondialdehyde (MDA) values in the meat. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures design, 5 treatments with 12 replications each, and the least squares means were compared with 4 orthogonal contrasts. The results showed that the meat of the VE-10 treatment had higher values of MDA (P <= 0.05) compared with the other antioxidant treatments in all the storage days. There were no differences (P >= 0.05) in MDA values between the dietary supplemented and meat-added antioxidant treatments. The meat added with honey had lower MDA values than the one with BHT (P <= 0.05). Meat of the VE-100 treatment showed lower MDA values than the one of OR-100 (P <= 0.05) in most storage days. In conclusion, supplementation of 10 mg.kg(-1) of vitamin E to the diet resulted in a higher development of lipid oxidation in the meat. Both dietary supplemented or meat-added antioxidants had similar effects on the lipid oxidative stability. The addition of honey maintained longer the lipid oxidative stability of the meat than BHT. Finally, dietary supplementation of vitamin E at the same level of oregano oil, 100 mg.kg(-1), resulted in a higher antioxidant effect on the meat.