Table 4.
Effects of chitosan oligosaccharides on meat quality of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress.
| Item | Control | HS | HSC | SEM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat color | ||||
| L∗ (lightness) | 49.61 | 50.37 | 50.61 | 1.07 |
| a∗ (redness) | 10.33 | 10.39 | 10.39 | 0.16 |
| b∗ (yellowness) | 9.05 | 8.88 | 8.82 | 0.17 |
| pH24h | 5.73a | 5.30b | 5.62a | 0.06 |
| Drip loss, % | ||||
| Day 1 | 3.00 | 3.17 | 3.17 | <0.00 |
| Day 3 | 5.67 | 5.17 | 5.17 | <0.00 |
| Day 5 | 10.33 | 10.00 | 10.00 | <0.00 |
| Day 7 | 13.17 | 13.33 | 13.17 | <0.00 |
| Cooking loss, % | 15.66b | 20.83a | 16.67b | 0.01 |
a,bWithin the same row with different superscripts differ (P < 0.05).
Abbreviations: COS, chitosan oligosaccharides; Control group, basal diet and raised under normal temperature (24°C); HS group, basal diet and raised under cycle heat stress (34°C from 10:00 to 18:00 and 24°C for the rest time); HSC group, basal diet with 200 mg/kg COS supplementation and raised under cycle heat stress.