The physicochemical properties and antioxidative potential of raw thigh meat from broilers fed a dietary medicinal herb extract mixture.

A 6-wk feeding study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidative potential, indices such as quality of the thigh meat and liver of broiler chickens fed with a dietary medicinal herb extract mixture (HEM, consisting: Iranian green tea, cinnamon, garlic and chicory at a ratio of 25:15:45:15). A total of 320, one-d-old Ross (male) broiler chickens were used to investigate the effects of 0.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 g/kg HEM in the diet, on aforementioned factors. The HEM supplementation did not influence the composition of raw thigh meat except for the total phenols and crude ash (P<0.05). Furthermore, pH, water-holding capacity (WHC) and acceptability of thigh meat were affecting by administration of HEM in diets (P<0.05). Meat flavor increased in the supplemented groups (P<0.05). According to our data, HEM supplementation decreased the amount of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in various times of storage and improved the liver lipid peroxides and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities at week 6 (P<0.05), but did not influence the catalase activity. Our results reveal that the addition of 7.5 g/kg or higher HEM in diet could be sufficient to increase the antioxidative activity and 2.5 g/kg for meat taste of broilers in maximum levels.