INCLUSION OF CUPUAÇU SEED MEAL (Theobroma grandiflorum) IN THE DIET OF SLOW-GROWING CHICKENS ON THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEAT
Free-range chicken, Theobroma grandiflorum, antioxidants
The objective was to evaluate the effects of including cupuaçu seed meal (FSC) in the diet of slow-growing chickens on the qualitative parameters of the meat. The experiment was conducted at the Federal Rural University of the Amazon, using 168 one-day-old Plymouth Rock Barred chicks, distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments (0, 5, 10, and 15% FSC) and six replicates. The birds were kept in 24 experimentais pens with a density of 4.5 birds/m² and access to paddocks from 30 days of age. Meat quality parameters were evaluated, such as pH, shear force, cooking and thawing losses, TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), colorimetry (L, a, b*), and chemical composition (dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and ash). The statistical analyses were performed using the computer program Statistical Analysis System (SAS), through analysis of variance and linear and quadratic regression analysis for the tested inclusion levels, at a 5% probability level. The inclusion of FSC did not significantly influence pH, shear force, cooking and thawing losses, TBARS values, or meat color parameters. There was a quadratic effect on the chemical composition of the breast and thigh, where the highest values of dry matter and ash in the breast and dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract in the thigh occurred at the 5% inclusion level. Furthermore, there was a decreasing linear effect on the fat content of the breast. Meanwhile, in the thigh, there was a linear increase in dry matter and fat content with increasing levels of FSC. Although there is a reduction in the nutrients of the breast and thigh meat with FSC inclusion levels above 5%, the inclusion of up to 15% is recommended in diets for slow-growing chickens since there was no effect on the qualitative parameters of the meat, such as pH, tenderness, water-holding capacity, lipid oxidation (TBARS), and color.