Table 4.

Proximate composition, cholesterol content and intramuscular collagen properties of breast muscle of slow-growing broiler chickens injected in ovo with GOS in response to heat stress.

	Treatment (Tr)1		Temperature (T)2		SEM	Significance
	C	GOS	TN	HS		Tr	T	TrxT
Moisture (%)	72.43	72.51	72.29	72.76	0.07	NS	NS	NS
Protein (%)	24.74	24.51	24.73	24.40	0.07	NS	NS	NS
Lipid (%)	2.43	2.29	2.32	2.39	0.05	NS	NS	NS
Ash (%)	0.81	0.83	0.81	0.84	0.01	NS	NS	NS
Cholesterol (mg/100 g)	37.42	37.72	38.29	36.85	0.69	NS	NS	NS
Total collagen (μg/mg3)	17.56	17.02	18.42	16.18	0.24	NS	*	NS
HLP4 (mol/mol of collagen)	0.070	0.069	0.071	0.067	0.001	NS	NS	NS

¹C = Control (untreated); GOS = in ovo injected with GOS.

²TN = thermoneutral conditions; HS = heat stress conditions (on d 36–50).

³liophylized muscle tissue.

⁴Abbreviation: HLP, hydroxylysylpyridinoline. Significance: NS = P > 0.05; * P < 0.05.