Effect of Dietary Curcumin on the Growth Performance, Serum Antioxidation and Meat Quality of Ducks (Anas Platyrhynchos)

Abstract Background: With increasing of duck meat among consumers, the demand for growth performance and the meat quality health of ducks in increasing. Dietary curcumin altered the growth performance and meat quality. However, study on the effect of dietary curcumin on the growth performance, serum antioxidation and meat quality of ducks. This study invested effects of dietary curcumin given to ducks on the growth performance, antioxidation capacity in plasma, meat quality, lipid oxidation and the concentration of volatile compounds in duck breast muscle. A total of 600 healthy ducks with similar body weight were randomly allotted into 4 groups with 10 replicates per group and 15 ducks per replicate. Ducks were fed experimental diets which the curcumin supplemental levels were 0, 300, 400 and 500 mg curcumin/kg basic fed, respectively. The experiment lasted for 10 weeks. Results: Results showed that dietary supplementation of curcumin at levels 300, 400 and 500 mg/kg dietary (P < 0.05) improved the average final body weight. The ducks fed the basal diet without curcumin supplementation had the lowest FI (P > 0.05) and highest FCR (P > 0.05) among all ducks. Feeding ducks on diets supplemented with curcumin at each level significantly increased (P < 0.05) plasma activity of T-SOD and GSH-Px, and significantly reduced plasma MDA concentration compared to the control group. The dietary curcumin significantly increased the growth performance and the antioxidation capacity in plasma of ducks. Dietary curcumin improved the meat quality of ducks by significantly increasing pH45, pH24 (P < 0.05) and color of duck meat (P < 0.05), and significantly decreasing cooking loss (P < 0.05), shear force (P < 0.05), and the lipid oxidation of duck meat. 56 volatile compounds were identified and quantified. Interestingly, cantharidin among volatile compounds was firstly found in duck muscle, and only existed in the group of 500 mg curcumin/kg diet. Conclusions: In conclusion, the supplementation of duck diets with curcumin at 300, 400, and 500 mg/kg diet improved growth performance, antioxidant status and meat quality of ducks. The cantharidin was firstly found in duck breast muscle when the dietary curcumin inclusion of 500 mg/kg.