Quality of meat from chickens supplemented with Chromium-Methionine

The use of Cr has shown potentially beneficial effects when added to broiler diets. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of chromium methionine (CrMet) supplementation in broiler diets from 1 to 42 days of age on carcass traits, breast myopathies, meat quality, and composition. The study involved one-day-old male Cobb 500® broiler chickens with initial weights ranging from 45.7 to 48.5 g. The birds were distributed in a completely randomized design comprising five dietary treatments, with 10 replicate pens per treatment and 20 animals per pen, which served as the experimental unit. Treatments consisted of diets supplemented with graded levels of CrMet (0, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, and 2.0 mg kg-1). CrMet supplementation did not significantly affect (P>0.05) carcass traits, lipid peroxidation, or the severity of wooden breast and white striping. However, it influenced the occurrence of score 0 for wooden breast and scores 2 and 3 for white striping. Additionally, meat color and ash content were affected.