Effects of mango peel ethanolic extract as antioxidant in quail diets on performance, carcass traits, and meat lipid stability.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of mango peel ethanolic extract (MPEE) as antioxidant in quail diets containing two lipid sources, on performance, carcass characteristics, and lipid stability of in natura and frozen meat. A total of 432 meat quails were used, males and females, from 7 to 42 days of age, distributed in a completely randomized design in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, with 3 levels of MPEE (0, 500, and 1000 mg/kg) and 2 lipid sources (soybean and sunflower oil), totaling 6 treatments with 6 replications of 12 birds. In order to evaluate the meat lipid stability, carcass samples were used in a 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 factorial arrangement, with 2 levels of MPEE (0 and 1000 mg/kg), 2 lipid sources (soybean and sunflower oil), 2 types of packaging (conventional and vacuum), and 3 storage times (0, 60, and 120 days), totaling 16 treatments with 6 replications. There was no effect of interaction (P > 0.05) between the factors on the performance variables and carcass characteristics. Oil types and MPEE levels did not influence (P > 0.05) performance. For carcass characteristics, it was found to be increased (P < 0.05) in breast meat yield due to the inclusion of MPEE. For the meat lipid stability, there was only an effect of interaction (P < 0.05) between type of packaging and storage time. The inclusion of 1000 mg/kg of MPEE provided greater meat lipid stability, enabling the use of common packaging for the storage of quail meat for up to 120 days.