Effect of Chestnut Tannins and Vitamin E Supplementation to Linseed Oil-Enriched Diets on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, and Intestinal Morphology of Broiler Chickens

The objective of this study was to establish the effects of chestnut tannin extract or vitamin E added to linseed oil-enriched diets on growth performance, meat quality, and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens. A total of 240 day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were included in trial. 5% of cold-pressed linseed oil was included in finisher diets (21–40 days), and three feeding treatments with four replicates were formed: finisher without additives; finisher + 200 IU vitamin E/kg; finisher + 500 mg/kg of chestnut wood tannin extract. No significant influence of treatments was established on body weight or feed conversion ratio. A negative effect on feed intake ( p < 0.05) was found in the vitamin E group. The addition of vitamin E increased the dressing percentage ( p < 0.05) and increased the breast meat yield ( p < 0.01) compared to the control group. No significant effects were found on the water holding capacity or pH of breast meat. The highest level of AST ( p < 0.01) and ALT ( p < 0.05) was recorded in vitamin E group. The addition of chestnut tannin extract in feed increased villus height, villus height: crypt depth ratio, and villus area compared to the other two groups ( p < 0.05). It can be concluded that vitamin E supplementation improves carcass percentage and breast meat yield, while chestnut tannins improve the intestinal morphology of broiler chickens when added to oil-enriched diets.