Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat

Dietary nutrient composition is an important factor influencing the ultimate properties of poultry carcass and meat quality. This study investigated the effects of varying dietary apparent metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on the slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dingfa Wang, Luli Zhou, Liguang Shi, Ting Cao, Khaled Abouelezz, Guanyu Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Animal Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2025.1646519/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849390229606105088
author Dingfa Wang
Luli Zhou
Liguang Shi
Ting Cao
Khaled Abouelezz
Khaled Abouelezz
Guanyu Hou
author_facet Dingfa Wang
Luli Zhou
Liguang Shi
Ting Cao
Khaled Abouelezz
Khaled Abouelezz
Guanyu Hou
author_sort Dingfa Wang
collection DOAJ
description Dietary nutrient composition is an important factor influencing the ultimate properties of poultry carcass and meat quality. This study investigated the effects of varying dietary apparent metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on the slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid profiles in native Danzhou chickens aged from 120 to 150 days. A total of 720 120-day-old female Danzhou chickens were randomly assigned to six experimental diets with two ME levels (11.70 and 12.50 MJ/kg ME) and three CP levels (13, 14 and 15% CP). The results showed that dietary ME and its interaction with CP had a significant impact on the semi-eviscerated carcass percentage and eviscerated carcass percentage of the chickens (P < 0.05). Irrespective of ME level, the dietary 14% CP reduced (P < 0.05) the drip loss and shear force of thigh muscle than those in the 15% CP group, increased (P < 0.05) the intramuscular fat (IMF) content in both breast and thigh muscles compared to 13% CP, and enhanced (P < 0.05) L-arginine and L-ornithine levels in breast muscle relative to both 13% and 15% CP groups. A significant interaction between dietary ME and CP levels were observed for L-threonine and L-proline content in the breast muscle, as well as for L-glutamic acid in the thigh muscle (P < 0.05). In summary, a dietary metabolizable energy level of 12.50 MJ/kg paired with a 14% crude protein content can enhance the slaughter performance and meat quality in native growing Danzhou chickens. Appropriate dietary energy and protein levels will provide a scientific support for the precise formulation of diets for Danzhou chickens in the future.
format Article
id doaj-art-dd96a8f307664a43840e1f3fff6c60a9
institution Kabale University
issn 2673-6225
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Animal Science
spelling doaj-art-dd96a8f307664a43840e1f3fff6c60a92025-08-20T03:41:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Animal Science2673-62252025-08-01610.3389/fanim.2025.16465191646519Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meatDingfa Wang0Luli Zhou1Liguang Shi2Ting Cao3Khaled Abouelezz4Khaled Abouelezz5Guanyu Hou6Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaTropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaTropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaTropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaTropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaDepartment of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, EgyptTropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, ChinaDietary nutrient composition is an important factor influencing the ultimate properties of poultry carcass and meat quality. This study investigated the effects of varying dietary apparent metabolizable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on the slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid profiles in native Danzhou chickens aged from 120 to 150 days. A total of 720 120-day-old female Danzhou chickens were randomly assigned to six experimental diets with two ME levels (11.70 and 12.50 MJ/kg ME) and three CP levels (13, 14 and 15% CP). The results showed that dietary ME and its interaction with CP had a significant impact on the semi-eviscerated carcass percentage and eviscerated carcass percentage of the chickens (P < 0.05). Irrespective of ME level, the dietary 14% CP reduced (P < 0.05) the drip loss and shear force of thigh muscle than those in the 15% CP group, increased (P < 0.05) the intramuscular fat (IMF) content in both breast and thigh muscles compared to 13% CP, and enhanced (P < 0.05) L-arginine and L-ornithine levels in breast muscle relative to both 13% and 15% CP groups. A significant interaction between dietary ME and CP levels were observed for L-threonine and L-proline content in the breast muscle, as well as for L-glutamic acid in the thigh muscle (P < 0.05). In summary, a dietary metabolizable energy level of 12.50 MJ/kg paired with a 14% crude protein content can enhance the slaughter performance and meat quality in native growing Danzhou chickens. Appropriate dietary energy and protein levels will provide a scientific support for the precise formulation of diets for Danzhou chickens in the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2025.1646519/fullamino acid profilecarcass traitscrude proteinDanzhou chickenmetabolizable energy
spellingShingle Dingfa Wang
Luli Zhou
Liguang Shi
Ting Cao
Khaled Abouelezz
Khaled Abouelezz
Guanyu Hou
Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
Frontiers in Animal Science
amino acid profile
carcass traits
crude protein
Danzhou chicken
metabolizable energy
title Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
title_full Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
title_fullStr Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
title_full_unstemmed Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
title_short Dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance, meat quality, and amino acid composition in slow-growing Danzhou chicken meat
title_sort dietary apparent metabolizable energy and crude protein levels influence slaughter performance meat quality and amino acid composition in slow growing danzhou chicken meat
topic amino acid profile
carcass traits
crude protein
Danzhou chicken
metabolizable energy
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2025.1646519/full
work_keys_str_mv AT dingfawang dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT lulizhou dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT liguangshi dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT tingcao dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT khaledabouelezz dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT khaledabouelezz dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat
AT guanyuhou dietaryapparentmetabolizableenergyandcrudeproteinlevelsinfluenceslaughterperformancemeatqualityandaminoacidcompositioninslowgrowingdanzhouchickenmeat