MEAT QUALITY OF BROILER QUAIL FED ON FEEDS WITH DIFFERENT PROTEIN CONTENT

Józefa Gardzielewska¹, Małgorzata Jakubowska¹, Zofia Tarasewicz², Danuta Szczerbińska², Marek Ligocki^3
1 Department Animal Product Evaluation, Agricultural University of Szczecin, Poland
² Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brids Breeding, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland
³ Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brid Breeding, Agricultural University of Szczecin, Poland

ABSTRACT

The aim of this experiment was to study how reduced content of protein in each feeding stage during raising influences carcass fattiness and, in consequence, the chemical composition, and meat physicochemical and sensory properties in 6-week-old quail. The material comprised 150 one-day-old Pharaoh quail divided into three experimental groups. The birds of the group I received feeds with nutritional value recommended by feeding standards for growing quail, while the groups II and III received rations with reduced level of protein in all feeds for the period of raising. At the age of 42 days, 6 male and female birds of the body weight similar to the sex's average from each group were slaughtered. The amount of abdominal and non-muscular fat was determined. Chemical assays (dry matter, protein, and fat content), physicochemical analyses (pH, colour, water-holding capacity), and sensory evaluation (boiled meat and broth) were carried out. The results of the study allowed us to conclude that lower level of protein content in the feed reduced fattiness of the carcasses, improved the meat water-binding (holding) capacity. Most remaining tested meat quality characters were similar to those obtained in the control group.

Key words: feeding, meat, protein quail, quality.

INTRODUCTION

Over the recent years, research has been carried out in Poland in order to harmlessly reduce the level of total protein in the feeds fed to some technological groups of poultry, mainly broilers [6, 12, 17]. A possibility of reduced protein supply without disturbing the body growth could lead to saving a considerable protein amount and reducing the nitrogen excretion with manure [10]. Application of reduced protein level-feeds for poultry may represent a way to reduce feeding costs, especially as, according to some authors, reduced protein level in the feeding ration does not influence the chemical composition of meat [2, 7, 8]. However, should total protein in the ration be seriously reduced, carcass fattiness measured with abdominal fat content increases, despite an amino-acid deficiency supplementing [8]. Increased fattiness of poultry carcasses reveals important changes in the availability of particular feed components, which may be reflected in physicochemical and sensory properties of the meat. Hence this experiment whose objective was to evaluate the effect of reduced protein level in each feeding stage during the growth on the carcass fat content and, in concequence, on the chemical composition and physicochemical and sensory properties of the meat of 6-week-old quail.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The material comprised 150 one-day-old Pharaoh quail chicks divided into three experimental groups, 50 birds each. The quail remained in typical cages during the raising and in the conditions conforming with the requirements of this species. In the present experiment, the birds of the group I received feed with nutritional value recommended by feeding standards for growing quail, while the groups II and III received rations with reduced level of protein throughout the period of the raising (Table 1), with the energy-protein ratio like in the control group. The feed was changed gradually over a period of 4 days. At age 42 days, 6 males and females of the weight similar like the average for the group and sex were slaughtered in each group. After the post-slaughter processing, the carcasses were stored at about 10°C for 24 hours.

Table 1. Composition of diets (%)

Group	I			II			III
Protein content	28	24	20	25	22	19	22	20	18
Age of quail (days)	0-7	8-28	29-42	0-7	8-28	29-42	0-7	8-28	29-42
Barley meal	10.00	10.00	15.00	5.00	5.00	10.00	10.00	5.00	10.00
Maize meal	20.00	10.00	10.00	15.00	5.00	5.00	10.00	5.00	5.00
Wheat meal	17.56	40.47	49.04	37.03	55.53	61.41	44.83	62.03	64.26
Soybean oil	2.80	0.90	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Soybean meal	37.50	31.00	17.40	32.50	26.80	15.40	25.00	20.00	12.40
NaCl	0.34	0.33	0.31	0.35	0.34	0.32	0.36	0.34	0.32
Limestone	0.94	0.80	0.86	1.03	0.85	0.87	1.08	0.85	0.90
Toyocerin	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05	0.05
DL-metionina	0.15	0.10	0.03	0.24	0.12	0.06	0.32	0.19	0.08
L-Lysine	-	-	-	0.12	0.03	0.07	0.36	0.23	0.17
Kemzyme Dry	0.10	0.10	0.03	0.05	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.02
Myco Carb	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.10
Lutamix E DKA-F	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50
VIT-TRA LAC	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20	0.20
Fish extract 65%	8.50	4.50	5.50	6.50	4.50	5.00	5.80	4.50	5.00
Fosforan 1- CA	1.25	0.95	0.97	1.32	0.95	0.99	1.37	0.98	0.99
Polfasol AD3	0.01	-	0.01	0.01	-	0.01	0.01	-	0.01
Metabolize energy (MJ)	12.38	12.09	11.98	11.56	11.67	11.99	11.54	11.88	12.08

Thereafter, the amount of abdominal fat pad was measured, and breast and thigh muscles where dissected, in which the non-muscular fat was estimated. The left-side muscles were used for chemical assays and physicochemical analyses. The right-side muscles were subjected to sensory evaluation as boiled meat and broth. Dry matter, total protein, and fat were determined in the breast muscles only. As a part of the physicochemical analyses, raw meat colour was evaluated (assuming 1 point for the brightest meat and 5 point for the darkest colour), pH of the meat was measured directly inside the sample using a pX-processor PM-600 pH-meter with a combined glass electrode ESAgP-307, water-holding capacity of the meat was determined as free water content [5].

The sensory analysis of the muscles and broth was carried out after boiling with water in proportion like 1:3 without seasoning at 85°C until soft. The boiling loss was calculated as the difference in weight before and after boiling. A 5-grade scale was applied in the sensory evaluation of the meat and broth, with 1 point as the worst, and 5 points as the best score.

The numerical data collected this way was processed statistically using one-way ANOVA and Duncan test by means of Statistica software.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The lowest dry matter content was found in the meat of the group II females (Table 2). Conversely, the highest dry matter content was found in the males of this group (Table 3). Dry matter content in the breast muscles of both males and females was correlated with intramuscular fat content. The least fat was found in the muscles of the group II females, while the most in the group II males. The observed level of dry matter in the breast muscles does not confirm previous reports that feeding was of no effect on the basic chemical composition of breast muscles [2, 7, 8, 15, 18, 19].

Table 2. Results of chemical, physicochemical, and sensory analyses of female meat

		Breast muscles			Thigh muscles
		I	II	III	I	II	III
Dry matter (%)		27.57a	26.50b	27.30a	-	-	-
	s	0.66	0.42	0.77	-	-	-
Total protein (%)		24.61	24.31	24.20	-	-	-
	s	0.26	0.35	0.39	-	-	-
Raw fat (%)		2.39a	1.66b	2.33a	-	-	-
	s	0.43	0.32	0.54	-	-	-
Abdominal fat (%)*		1.92a	0.60b	1.05c
	s	2.70	0.25	1.32
Muscle fattiness (%)		2.15a	1.47b	1.97a	6.89A	3.50B	4.89AB
	s	1.59	1.31	1.01	4.27	2.34	2.70
Raw muscle colour (pkt)		2.25	2.33	3.30	2.50a	2.92ab	3.30b
	s	1.34	0.78	1.62	0.80	0.63	0.63
Muscle pH after 6 hrs		5.91	5.95	5.90	-	-	-
	s	0.15	0.22	0.09	-	-	-
Muscle pH after 24 hrs		5.60A	5.42B	5.50AB	6.62	6.69	6.65
	s	0.16	0.19	0.00	0.07	0.11	0.05
Boiling loss (%)		34.20	35.80	35.60	23.80	22.80	22.00
	s	0.60	1.65	1.95	2.51	3.13	2.47
Free water (%)		0.79A	0.83A	0.16B	-	-	-
	s	0.43	0.45	0.25	-	-	-
Meat flavour (pts)		5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
	s	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Meat juicyness (pts)		3.50	3.50	3.50	4.83	4.75	4.80
	s	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.26	0.42
Meat brittleness (pts)		3.50	3.60	3.30	4.83	4.83	4.90
	s	1.28	1.22	1.18	0.39	0.39	0.21
Broth colour (pts)		2.67	3.00	3.50	2.33	2.17	2.60
	s	1.78	1.00	0.94	0.49	0.39	0.70
Broth smell (pts)		4.83	5.00	4.20	2.75	2.67	3.30
	s	0.39	0.00	1.69	0.78	0.78	0.79
Broth flavour (pts)		4.50A	4.58A	3.50B	3.00	3.00	2.70
	s	0.80	1.48	0.94	0.90	0.52	0.63

* Whole carcass. Means marked with different letters in columns differ: A, B, C - highly significantly (p ≤ 0.01). a, b, c - significantly (p ≤ 0.05).

Table 3. Results of chemical, physicochemical, and sensory analyses of male meat

		Breast muscles			Thigh muscles
		I	II	III	I	II	III
Dry matter (%)		26.90a	27.50b	27.30ab	-	-	-
	s	0.69	0.47	0.32	-	-	-
Total protein (%)		24.50	24.50	24.90	-	-	-
	s	0.63	0.55	0.62	-	-	-
Raw fat (%)		1.76	2.19	1.88	-	-	-
	s	0.76	0.78	0.22	-	-	-
Abdominal fat (%)*		2.39	1.86	2.32	-	-	-
	s	2.66	2.36	1.56	-	-	-
Muscle fattiness (%)		3.28	3.32	2.12	6.78	7.26	7.77
	s	1.40	2.51	1.34	5.09	2.94	3.14
Raw muscle colour (pkt)		3.75	3.25	2.70	3.42	3.42	3.50
	s	1.27	0.99	1.55	0.76	0.63	0.67
Muscle pH after 6 hrs		6.04a	5.84b	5.86b	-	-	-
	s	0.22	0.09	0.20	-	-	-
Muscle pH after 24 hrs		5.60	5.52	5.50	6.62a	6.72b	6.66a
	s	0.15	0.04	0.00	0.07	0.09	0.05
Boiling loss (%)		34.80	35.30	36.80	24.50	23.40	23.20
	s	2.16	2.36	1.02	2.01	2.75	1.72
Free water (%)		1.07A	0.44B	0.29B	-	-	-
	s	0.35	0.38	0.32	-	-	-
Meat flavour (pts)		5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
	s	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Meat juicyness (pts)		3.50	3.50	3.50	4.67	4.92	4.90
	s	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	0.19	0.21
Meat brittleness (pts)		3.58	3.08	2.90	5.00a	4.92ab	4.80b
	s	0.87	0.97	1.39	0.00	0.19	0.26
Broth colour (pts)		3.67	4.00	3.90	2.50	2.67	2.20
	s	0.98	1.04	1.07	0.52	0.49	0.42
Broth smell (pts)		4.33	4.33	5.00	2.50	2.25	2.30
	s	1.15	1.56	0.00	0.52	0.58	0.63
Broth flavour (pts)		3.50	3.00	3.50	3.17	3.00	3.20
	s	0.80	0.47	0.94	0.39	0.63	0.42

* Whole carcass. Means marked with different letters in columns differ: A, B, C - highly significantly (p ≤ 0.01). a, b, c - significantly (p ≤ 0.05).

In the present experiment, the fattiness of the quail was determined by both abdominal fat and the fat collected from the surface of the whole muscles, and expressed as a percentage in the muscle weight. For females (Table 2), the highest fat content was found in the group I, i.e. the control (1.92, 2.15, and 6.89), while the lowest in the group II (0.60, 1.47, and 3.50). In the group III, fat content reached intermediate levels between the groups I and II (1.05, 1.97, and 4.89). The differences are statistically significant. No such patterns were found for males. The results achieved by the females confirm the observations by such authors as Rossebrough and Steele [16], Bochno and Brzozowski [1], Muscalu et al. [14], Mazanowski et al. [13], Kamińska [9], and Wilkiewicz-Wawro et al. [20], who have also found that poultry carcass fattiness decreases with the level of protein in the ration.

The colour of raw muscles of females ranged within 2.25 and 3.30 points. The results of sensory evaluation of raw muscle colour are comparable with those reported by Gardzielewska et al. [3] for quail. In both types of muscles, a trend was found to grow dark with decreasing level of protein in the feeding ration; a significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the group I (2.50 points) and III (3.30 points) in the thigh muscle.

In the muscles of the males, no differences in the colour were found between the birds of groups fed on varied levels of protein in the feed. To some extent, this corresponds to the findings by Daszkiewicz et al. [2], who found no effect of varied protein level in the diet on the colour of the meat either.

The acidity of the breast muscle meat 24 hours after the slaughter in all the groups was typical for the quail breast muscle [4]; however, differences in pH between the groups were found. For females, higher acidity of the breast muscle was found if the birds had been fed on the diet with less protein (pH = 5.42 and pH = 5.50), as compared with the control group (pH = 5.60). No significant differences were found in the male breast muscle acidity, whereas differences were present in their thigh muscles. The acidity in the group II was significantly lower (pH = 6.72) compared with the control group I (pH = 6.62) and the group III (pH = 6.66). The results we have obtained correspond to those published by Daszkiewicz et al. [2]. These authors have not found differences in muscle acidity.

The amount of the meat thermal drip we have observed in our experiment remained at the level typical for quail meat [4]. No significant differences were found in the parameter between the groups, neither for females (Table 2) nor for males (Table 3). Some trends, however, can be seen that the thermal drip loss is higher if the birds had received less protein in their diet.

The results of free water content analysis showed a reversed pattern. This inconsistency can be explained with the fact that the analysis of thermal drip loss was performed using whole muscles, whereas the analysis of free water content was based on minced meat. As it is known, minced meat has a higher water-holding capacity or water-binding capacity [11]. Statistical analysis of the results of breast muscle free water content as a measure of their water-holding capacity demonstrated that it was significantly better in the breast muscles of the females from the group III (0.16%), males from the group II (0.44%), and the group III (0.29%), i.e. the groups that had been fed on reduced protein feeds. Similar conclusions are presented by Jamroz et al. [8], who found that a trend of increased meat water-holding capacity can bee seen with a lower protein supply.

The sensory analysis of boiled muscles included such quality characters as flavour, juiciness, and brittleness. In one case only an effect was found of reduced protein in the diet on the evaluated indices, that is brittleness of males' thigh muscle meat. The brittleness deteriorated with the reduction of protein content in the feeds (5.00, 4.92, and 4.80 points). It should be noted, however, that the score of 4.80 points for brittleness is still a very good result.

The sensory analysis of the broth that included three components (colour, smell, and flavour), like in the case of meat, only in one case showed an effect of the experimental treatment. This concerns the flavour of the broth obtained from the females' breast muscles. Reduced level of protein in the feeds resulted in poorer flavour of the broth in the group III (3.50 points), as compared with the group I (4.58 points) and II (4.58 points).

CONCLUSIONS

Lower level of protein content in the feed reduced fattiness of the carcasses, improved the meat water-binding (holding) capacity. Most remaining tested meat quality characters were similar to those obtained in the control group.

REFERENCES

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Józefa Gardzielewska
Department Animal Product Evaluation,
Agricultural University of Szczecin, Poland
Doktora Judyma 24, 71-466 Szczecin, Poland
email: J.Gardzielewska@biot.ar.szczecin.pl

Małgorzata Jakubowska
Department Animal Product Evaluation,
Agricultural University of Szczecin, Poland
Doktora Judyma 24, 71-466 Szczecin, Poland

Zofia Tarasewicz
Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brids Breeding,
West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland
Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brids Breeding,
West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland

Danuta Szczerbińska
Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brids Breeding,
West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland
20 Doktora Judyma St.
71-466 Szczecin, Poland

Marek Ligocki
Department of Poultry and Ornamental Brid Breeding,
Agricultural University of Szczecin, Poland
Doktora Judyma 24, 71-466 Szczecin, Poland

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