Effect of adding prefermented cereal product containing gamma-linolenic acid to broiler feed on production indicators and fatty acid profile of chicken breast

Administration of Thamnidium elegans for effective utilization of agroindustrial materials (wheat bran) creates new perspectives for animal cereal diet enriched with fungal γ-linolenic acid (GLA). The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of adding prefermented cereal product containing a high amount of gamma-linolenic acid into the feed on broiler chickens’ performance, fatty acids profile and oxidative stability in chilled breast meat. Seventy eight COBB 500 oneday old broiler chicks were randomly divided into 2 treatment groups with three replications and fattened for 42 days. During the first 21 days, all broilers consumed the starter diet. After three weeks, broilers were fed the grower diet; controls were fed without the addition of prefermented cereal product; and the experimental group was supplemented with 3% of prefermented product. Higher final body weight (2 688 vs. 2 604 g) and feed conversion ratio were recorded in the experimental group (P > 0.05). The increased GLA content in the experimental diet (0.095 g·kg -1 ) resulted in a significant increase of GLA, dihomo-GLA and arachidonic acid in the lipids of breast muscle tissue (P < 0.05). Adding prefermented product to the feed also resulted in an increase in total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mainly eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acid in lipids of breast (P < 0.05). The experimental diet produced a significant decrease in the n-6/n-3 ratio (from 10.00 to 8.14). Storage of breast muscles with a higher PUFA in chilling conditions led to a decrease in oxidative stability when the values of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) increased (P < 0.05). This is a first study using prefermented cereal product for the fattening of broiler chickens. Biotechnology, chicken, meat quality, PUFA, TBARS