Effects of photoperiod regime on meat quality, oxidative stability, and metabolites of postmortem broiler fillet (M. Pectoralis major) muscles

Authors: TUELL, JACOB - Purdue University; PARK, JUNYOUNG - Purdue University; WANG, WEICHAO - Purdue University; COOPER, BRUCE - Purdue University; SOBREIRA, TIAGO - Purdue University; Cheng, Heng-Wei; KIM, YUAN - Purdue University

Submitted to: Foods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/19/2020
Publication Date: 2/19/2020
Citation: Tuell, J.R., Park, J., Wang, W., Cooper, B., Sobreira, T., Cheng, H., Kim, Y.H. 2020. Effects of photoperiod regime on meat quality, oxidative stability, and metabolites of postmortem broiler fillet (M. Pectoralis major) muscles. Foods. 9(2), 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020215.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020215

Interpretive Summary: The current lighting regimes with continuous (24 light:0 dark) or near-continuous (23 ligh:1 dark) photoperiods increase broiler growth rate, feed consumption, and feed conversion, but the short resting time may affect musculoskeletal development, increasing incidence of lameness and its associated pain and walking disability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of photoperiod on quality, oxidative stability, and metabolites of meat fillet through broiler processing. The broilers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 photoperiod treatments (hours L=Light, D=Dark): 20L:4D, 18L:6D, 16L:8D, and 12L:12D. The results indicate that photoperiod has no considerable impact on initial meat quality, but extended photoperiods may negatively impact oxidative stability through alteration of muscle metabolites. The findings provide some insights for poultry meat producers to develop management strategies for preventing the rearing condition caused meat quality deterioration.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of photoperiod on meat quality, oxidative stability, and metabolites of broiler fillet (M. Pectoralis major) muscles. A total of 432 broilers was split among 4 photoperiod treatments [hours light(L):dark(D)]: 20L:4D, 18L:6D, 16L:8D, and 12L:12D. At 42 days, a total of 48 broilers (12 broilers/treatment) was randomly selected and harvested. At 1-day postmortem, fillet muscles were dissected and displayed for 7 days. No considerable impacts of photoperiods on general carcass and meat quality attributes, such as carcass weight, yield, pH, water-holding capacity, and shear force, were found (P > 0.05). However, color and oxidative stability were influenced by photoperiod, where muscles from 20L:4D appeared lighter and more discolored, coupled with higher lipid oxidation (P < 0.05) and protein denaturation (P = 0.058), compared to 12L:12D. The UPLC-MS metabolomic analysis identified 20 metabolites were displayed differently between 20L:4D and 12L:12D groups. In general, 20L:4S had a lower aromatic amino acids/dipeptides ratio and a higher oxidized glutathione and guanine/methylated guanosine ratio. These results suggest that photoperiod has no considerable impact on initial meat quality, but extended photoperiods may negatively impact oxidative stability through alteration of muscle metabolites.