An evaluation of zinc bearing palygorskite inclusion on the growth performance, mineral content, meat quality, and antioxidant status of broilers

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of zinc (Zn) bearing palygorskite (ZnPal) inclusion on the growth performance, mineral content, meat quality, and antioxidant status of broilers. A total of 240 one-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chicks were randomly allocated into 5 dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 8 chicks. Broilers in the 5 treatments were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 mg/kg Zn diet in the form of ZnPal for 42 d, respectively. Birds exhibited similar average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and feed/gain ratio (F:G) among groups during the 42-day study (P > 0.05). ZnPal supplementation linearly increased iron (Fe) (P = 0.031) and magnesium (Mg) (P = 0.002) content in the pectoralis major muscle. Similarly, the inclusion of ZnPal tended to increase Zn content in the thigh (P = 0.072) and linearly increase Zn content in the pectoralis major muscle (P = 0.055). The concentration of copper (Cu) in the thigh was linearly decreased by ZnPal inclusion (P = 0.011). Meanwhile, a quadratic trend for reduced Cu content was observed in the pectoralis major muscle (P = 0.074) and thigh (P = 0.082), respectively. The supplementation of ZnPal linearly reduced cooking loss in the pectoralis major muscle (P = 0.013), and linearly (P = 0.029) and quadratically (P = 0.034) decreased cooking loss in the thigh. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the thigh was linearly (P = 0.020) and quadratically (P = 0.017) reduced by ZnPal inclusion. Additionally, ZnPal supplementation tended to linearly enhance total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activity of the pectoralis major muscle (P = 0.083). The results obtained in the current study indicated that ZnPal inclusion could alter muscular mineral accumulation, improve meat quality, and enhance the muscular antioxidant capacity of broilers, and Zn supplementation in the form of ZnPal at the dosage of 20 mg/kg would be sufficient in improving meat quality and muscular oxidative status.