Nutritional Properties and Oxidative Indices of Broiler Breast Meat Affected by Wooden Breast Abnormality

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Chicken breast is considered as a good source of high-quality protein and essential trace minerals. However, the nutritive quality of the meat can be adversely affected by wooden breast (WB) myopathy. WB manifests as decreased contents of total protein (per gram of meat) and essential amino acids isoleucine, leucine and valine. In addition, the mineral profile of WB meat is abnormal. The cause of WB remains unclear, but it has been linked with oxidative stress within the breast muscle in the living birds. In this study, protein oxidation in the meat and changes in absolute expression of oxidative stress response genes were identified, strengthening the link between oxidative stress and the incidence of WB. ABSTRACT: Wooden breast (WB) abnormality adversely impacts the quality of chicken meat and has been linked with oxidative stress. In this study, breast samples were taken from carcasses of 7-week-old Ross 308 broilers 20-min and 24-h postmortem. Five WB and seven non-WB control samples were assigned based on palpatory hardness (non-WB = no unusual characteristics and WB = focal or diffused hardness). WB exhibited lower contents of protein and the amino acids, i.e., isoleucine, leucine and valine, lighter surface color, lower shear force, greater drip loss and altered mineral profiles (p ≤ 0.05). Despite no difference in lipid oxidation, a greater degree of protein oxidation was found in the WB meat (p ≤ 0.05). Absolute transcript abundances of superoxide dismutase, hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 were greater in WB (p ≤ 0.05), whereas lactate dehydrogenase A expression was lower in WB (p ≤ 0.05). The findings support an association between oxidative stress and the altered nutritional and technological properties of chicken meat in WB.