Effects of Dietary Supplementation of BHT on Muscle Quality and Antioxidant Capacity of Yellow Broilers Fed Oxidized Soybean Oil

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on meat quality muscle antioxidant capacity of yellow broilers fed oxidized soybean oil. 2×2 factorial experimental design was used in our research. Factor 1 was the soybean oil in the diet, according to its quality divided into fresh soybean oil (MDA=13.4 nmol/mL) and oxidized soybean oil (MDA=367.7 nmol/mL). Factor 2 was the BHT content in the diet, according to the amount of additives divided into two levels (0, 125 mg/kg). 240 one-day-old fine quality yellow broilers were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups with 6 replicates in each group and 10 chickens in each replicate. The results showed that compared with fresh soybean oil, oxidized soybean oil could significantly increase the drip loss and MDA content of the muscle (p<0.05). And oxidized soybean oil could also significantly decrease the glutathione (GSH) content, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of the muscle (p<0.05). And the mRNA expression of γ-modifier subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase (γ-GCLm) and γ-catalytic subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase (γ-GCLc) in thigh muscles were also significantly reduced by oxidized soybean oil (p<0.05). Compared with the BHT-free diet group, the addition of 125 mg/kg BHT in the diet significantly reduced MDA content in the muscle, muscle drip loss and cooking loss (p<0.05), and significantly increased muscle T-SOD and CAT activity. (p<0.05), significantly increased mRNA expression of CAT and γ-GCLm in muscle (p<0.05). Adding BHT to the diet can improve yellow broilers' antioxidant capacity, improve the muscle quality and alleviate the oxidative damage caused by oxidized soybean oil.