Performance, Meat Quality and Lipid Profile of Broiler Chickens Fed With Crude and Semi-purified Vegetable Glycerin from Biodiesel Production

This study evaluated the effects of crude (CVG) and semi-purified (SPVG) vegetable glycerins inclusion in the broiler chickens diet on performance, meat quality and lipid profile. 1,350 1-day-old male Cobb-Vantress chicks were distributed in a completely randomised design in a factorial 2x4 arrangement with two types of vegetable glycerin (crude and semi-purified) and four inclusion levels (3, 6, 9 and 12%) and a control group, totalling 11 treatments with five replications and 30 birds per experimental unit. At 42d of age, performance, meat quality and lipid profile of meat were assessed. There was no interaction between types and levels of glycerin for performance and meat quality. The body weight gain and feed:gain ratio showed a quadratic response, with the highest body weight gain at 9.4% of glycerin and lowest feed:gain ration at 7%, respectively. The meat quality was not affected by the inclusion of glycerin. There was an interaction between types of glycerin and levels for all fatty acids in thigh meat, exception for vaccenic, alpha-linolenic and eicosanoic acid. The thighs of chickens fed SPVG showed a linear increase in myristic, palmitic, stearic and SFAs concentration. The thighs of broilers fed CVG showed a linear increase in linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic, docosahexaenoic acid, PUFAs, omega-6, and omega-3, and a linear decrease in stearic acid concentration and omega-6/omega-3 ratio. The CVG and SPVG can be included in broilers diets up to 7% with no effects on meat quality. Considering the meat fatty acids profile, the inclusion of CVG glycerin increased omega-3 concentrations while SPVG inclusion increased the SFAs in meat