Effect of supplementation of copper in copper sulphate and Cu-glycine on fatty acid profile in meat of broiler chickens, cholesterol content and oxidation stability of fat

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of a diet consisting of soybean, wheat and maize with 5% of rapeseed oil and different supplements of copper in the form of CuSO 4 .5H 2 O or bioplex on choles- terol content and fatty acid composition in breast meat of broiler cockerels. e experiment was conducted on 600 straight-run broiler cockerels randomly divided into 4 groups according to the type of diet: group I - control, no Cu supplement; experimental groups II - 35 mg Cu/kg and III - 175 mg Cu/kg in the form of CuSO 4 .5H 2 O; IV - 175 mg Cu/kg in the form of bioplex. Chickens were sacrificed at 42 days of age. No statistically significant differences were determined in productive parameters except for mortality that was lowest in group IV receiving copper in the Cu-glycine. Cu supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) cholesterol content by 24.9% in group IV (493 mg/kg) compared to the control group (656 mg/kg) and significantly decreased the concentration of polyenic fatty acids (PUFA) in groups III and IV (25.90 and 26.02%) in comparison with control group (27.73%) and group II (27.55%). e content of total saturated fatty acids (SFA) increased significantly in group II (27.01%) against the control group (25.41%). e contents of total monoenic fatty acids (MUFA) were significantly higher in groups III and IV (44.01% and 43.14%) than in group II (40.66%).