Effect of dietary oregano essential oil on performance of chickens and on iron-induced lipid oxidation of breast, thigh and abdominal fat tissues

Br Poult Sci. 2002 May;43(2):223-30. doi: 10.1080/00071660120121436.

Abstract

1. We studied the effect of dietary oregano essential oil (50 and 100 mg/kg of feed) on the performance of broilers, and determined the susceptibility of the resulting broiler meat to iron-induced lipid oxidation. 2. Performance of the birds was unaffected by the experimental diets. Therefore, dietary oregano oil exerted no growth-promoting effect on broilers. 3. Iron-induced lipid oxidation showed that as oregano oil increased in the diet, malondialdehyde values decreased in tissue samples, suggesting that the oil, particularly at 100 mg/kg of feed, exerted an antioxidant effect on chicken tissues. 4. Dietary alpha-tocopheryl acetate supplementation at 200 mg/kg of feed displayed greater antioxidant activity than oregano oil at either supplementation rate. 5. Thigh muscle was more susceptible to oxidation than breast muscle, although the former contained alpha-tocopherol at higher concentration. Muscle alpha-tocopherol is an important factor influencing lipid oxidation, but the influence of polyunsaturated fatty acids and content of pro-oxidants must be taken into consideration too.

MeSH terms

  • Abdomen
  • Adipose Tissue / anatomy & histology
  • Adipose Tissue / chemistry
  • Adipose Tissue / metabolism*
  • Animal Feed
  • Animals
  • Breast
  • Chickens / growth & development*
  • Chickens / metabolism
  • Dietary Fats, Unsaturated / pharmacology*
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Iron / pharmacology*
  • Lipid Metabolism*
  • Malondialdehyde / analysis
  • Muscle, Skeletal / chemistry
  • Origanum* / metabolism
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Random Allocation
  • Thigh
  • Time Factors
  • alpha-Tocopherol / analysis

Substances

  • Dietary Fats, Unsaturated
  • Malondialdehyde
  • Iron
  • alpha-Tocopherol