Fermented strawberry pomace enhances carcass characteristicsslaughter performance and meat quality by regulating plasma biochemical indices and antioxidant capacity in aged laying hens

Wei Lan¹Ting Chen²Binghua Qin²Md. Abul Kalam Azad²Zhihua Li²Yadong Cui¹Xiangfeng Kong^2*

• ¹Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, Anhui Province, China
• ²Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Changsha, China

Strawberry pomace, a byproduct of strawberry processing, is rich in vitamins, polyphenols, and other bio-active compounds that may confer beneficial effects on laying hens. This study systematically evaluated how dietary supplementation with fermented strawberry pomace (FSP) modulating carcass characteristics, meat quality, plasma parameters (lipid profiles and antioxidant capacity) in laying hens. The study com-prised 320 healthy 345-day-old laying hens, which were randomly assigned to four dietary groups receiving 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, or 1.0% FSP for nine weeks. The 0.25% FSP group showed increased dressing percentage (P < 0.05) compared to other groups. FSP supplementation at 0.25%–1% reduced breast muscle pH at 48 hours post-slaughter, as well as 48 hours drip loss. An elevation in leg muscle a* values (P < 0.05) was ob-served in both 0.25% and 0.5% FSP supplementation groups, while L* value was higher (P < 0.05) in the 0.25% FSP group compared to the 0.5% FSP group. The 0.5% FSP group showed higher leg muscle pH at 45 minutes (P < 0.05) than the control and 0.25% FSP groups. Plasma total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) was improved (P < 0.05) in the 1% FSP group compared to the control and 0.25% FSP groups. The 1% FSP group had a higher plasma GLU level (P < 0.05), compared with other groups. The plasma FFA level was de-creased (P < 0.05) in treatment groups than control group. All FSP groups exhibited a decreasing trend in plasma TG level (P = 0.057). In breast muscle, MDA level was lower (P < 0.05) in the 0.25% FSP group compared to the 1% FSP group. In addition, the expression of SOD1 in breast muscle was up-regulated (P < 0.05) in the 0.5% FSP group compared to the 0.25% FSP group. Collectively, dietary FSP supplementation increased carcass characteristics and meat quality by enhancing antioxidant capacity and plasma lipid me-tabolism in aged laying hens. The low-dose FSP level showed the most favorable outcomes.