Abstract:
The study was carried out to investigate the effect
s of Camelia (
Camelina sativa
L.
Crantz) variety (CS) oil or seeds on performance, m
eat quality, immunity and plasma
metabolic profile in broiler chickens. The broilers
(n= 2,080, Cobb 500) were randomly
allocated (sex ratio 1:1) for 32-day experimental p
eriods
(from 11d to 42 d) to 4
experimental groups: Control (corn-soybean meal-ful
l fat soy based diet), Group I (with
CS oil added at 2.5%
), Group II (5% CS seeds), and Group III (10% CS se
eds,
respectively) of 520 birds each, and received the d
iets
ad libitum
. Gas chromatography
method was used to determine the fatty acid profile
of the ingredients and breast muscle.
At slaughter (42 day), a simplified analysis of the
carcasses was conducted. The thymus,
spleen, and bursa of Fabricius were aseptically rem
oved and weighed. Results indicated
that the adding of 2.5% CS
oil and 5% CS seed did not have a negative effect o
n
performance and carcass characteristics (i.e. carca
ss yield, legs, and breast proportions).
Chickens fed the diet containing 10% CS seed had si
gnificantly decreased (P< 0.001) BW
gain. A significant decrease was also observed in t
he proportion of abdominal fat (P<
0.05) in carcasses with increasing levels of CS see
ds in the diet. However, the diets with CS
oil and seeds led to significant increases in omega
n
-3 fatty acids profile in the breast
muscle, mainly
α
-linolenic acid (P< 0.0001), eicosapentaenoic acid
(P< 0.0301),
docosapentaenoic acid (P< 0.0123) and docosahexaeno
ic acid (P< 0.0026). The diets did
not significantly affect the spleens and thymus wei
ghts, plasma enzymes activity, and total
immunoglobulin (Ig) content. Plasma energy profile
showed a tendency (P< 0.066)
towards increased triglyceride content and signific
antly decreased total cholesterol (P<
0.019) and its fractions (P< 0.001) in the groups r
eceiving CS oil and seeds in the diet.
Keywords:
Blood parameters,
Carcass characteristics, Chickens, Immunity, Meat q
uality.
