Camelia ( Camelina sativa L. Crantz Variety) Oil and Seeds as n-3 Fatty Acids Rich Products in Broiler Diets and Its Effects on Performance, Meat Fatty Acid Composition, Immune Tissue Weights, and Plasma Metabolic Profile

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.