Aspects of lipid oxidation of meat from free-range broilers consuming a diet containing grasshoppers on alpine steppe of the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of lipid oxidation in the meat of free-range broilers feeding on grasshoppers in alpine rangeland on the Tibetan Plateau. Eighty 28-d-old Qinjiaoma male broilers were introduced into a rangeland where there was a dense population of grasshoppers (PB). Control birds were reared under intensive conditions and given a maize-soybean diet. At 91 d of age, 24 birds from each treatment were slaughtered. Fresh breast and thigh meats were packaged and refrigerated for determination. The results indicate that rearing conditions, which included a diet rich in grasshoppers for PB broilers, significantly (P < 0.05) affected α-tocopherol content, total iron, heme iron, and nonheme iron content in the muscle of both the breast and leg. Rearing system and diet also had an important effect on antioxidant activity and lipid oxidation during refrigerated storage. This influence changed with storage time between different tissues. The activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in the muscle of chicken breasts or legs from PB broilers were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those from the controls, but no significant (P > 0.05) differences were found for the activities of catalase between the PB broilers and the controls. In conclusion, the meat in free-range broilers feeding on grasshoppers has more antioxidative potential and longer storage life.