Effects of short- and long-term high-fat diet feeding on muscle-type specific metabolism and meat quality in chickens

Abstract

High-fat diets (HFDs) are commonly used to modulate growth and meat quality in poultry; however, the duration- and muscle-specific effects remain unclear. In this study, Guangyuan Grey chickens were randomly assigned at day 150 into control, short-term HFD (SHFD), and long-term HFD (LHFD) groups (9 pens/treatment; 10 birds/pen). The HFD was formulated by increasing soybean oil from 1 % to 7 %, replacing corn and wheat bran. The pectoralis major (PEM) and soleus (SOL) muscles were evaluated for color, pH (15 min/24 h), drip/cooking loss, and shear force. Fatty acids were analyzed by GC-MS, volatiles by electronic nose, and untargeted metabolomics by LC-MS. LHFD resulted in decreased redness (a*), increased drip/cooking loss, and shear force (P < 0.05) with higher palmitic/stearic acids and aldehydes/sulfur volatiles. SHFD caused an increase in monounsaturated fatty acids and modestly enhanced aroma-related alcohols/ketones without significantly impairment in tenderness or water-holding capacity. Metabolomics indicated that amino acid metabolism and lipid-stress shifted in PEM and oxidative-stress was remodeled in SOL, implicating linoleic/unsaturated-fatty-acid pathways. These findings show that HFD effects are muscle-type and duration-dependent, with SHFD enhances flavor while LHFD leads to quality deterioration. The results provide a basis for optimizing diet fat level and duration strategies to improve poultry meat quality.