The current study investigated dietary effects of soy genistein (SG) and citrus hesperidin (CH) on microbial spoilage and antioxidant quality of chicken meat. Broilers were divided to six treatment groups: control (C), SG and CH, supplemented with 5 mg of SG and 20 mg of CH per kg of feed, respectively, and SGCH1, SGCH2 and SGCH3, supplemented with 5, 10 or 20 mg of SG + CH (1:4) per kg of feed respectively. Both SG and CH reduced (p < .01) the microbial load of spoilage organisms in breast meat at 0 and 15 days of refrigeration. Hepatic and muscle total antioxidant and superoxide dismutase activities, and crude protein contents were generally improved (p < .05), whereas hepatic malondialdehyde concentration and muscle fat was decreased (p < .01) by the dietary treatments. In conclusion, soy genistein and CH supplementation could improve meat composition, antioxidant and microbial quality of broilers meat.
Keywords: antioxidation; broiler; citrus hesperidin; flavonoid; meat quality; soy genistein.
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