Dietary α‐Linolenic Acid and Mixed Tocopherols, and Packaging Influences on Lipid Stability in Broiler Chicken Breast and Leg Muscle

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Abstract
Addition of α‐linolenic acid alone or plus mixed tocopherols, to the diet of broiler chickens had significant effects on composition of muscle fatty acids. Degree of unsaturation in both neutral lipids and phospholipids was increased. Both the tocopherols in the tissues and the storage stability of the meat were affected by the degree of polyunsaturation in fatty acids and dietary tocopherols. The amount of tocopherols in leg meat was higher than that of breast meat, and the antioxidant effect of dietary tocopherols was significant in cooked leg meat with hot‐ and cold‐vacuum packaging. Dietary tocopherols were not effective in the control of lipid oxidation in loosely packaged cooked meat. Lipid oxidation in α‐linolenic acid‐enriched cooked broiler meat could be controlled by hot‐vacuum packaging, but the antioxidant effect of hot packaging plus dietary tocopherol was greater than hot packaging or tocopherol alone.