Enhancing Canarian Cockerel Meat with n-3 LC-PUFAs Through Echium and Linseed Oils: Implications on Performance and Meat Quality Attributes.

Interest in indigenous and dual-purpose chicken breeds for sustainable poultry farming is growing. Additionally, incorporating local feed resources into their diets may enhance the nutritional value of their products while reducing environmental impact. This study investigated the ability of oil (EO), rich in stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4n-3) compared to linseed oil (LO) and high in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3n-3), to increase long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) in breast meat. Sixty Canarian cockerels were fed for six weeks with diets supplemented with 1.5% soybean oil (SO), 1.5% LO, or 2% EO. Final body weight and carcass traits showed no significant differences among groups ( > 0.05). However, EO-fed birds exhibited slightly higher breast meat lightness (L*) than LO-fed ones ( < 0.05). Total lipid content and lipid class composition remained unchanged ( > 0.05). Both LO and EO increased eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) compared to SO, with EO further enhancing SDA, 20:3n-3, 20:4n-3, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), resulting in meat with a healthier thrombogenic index (TI). Importantly, EO inclusion up to 2% did not negatively impact meat sensory qualities. These findings suggest that EO outperforms LO in enriching poultry meat with beneficial n-3 LC-PUFAs and holds great potential for poultry production.