Effects of Dietary Betaine Supplementation on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Meat Quality, and Fatty acid Composition in Broiler Chickens

Authors : Hasan Hüseyin İpçak

Pages : 673-686

Doi:10.47115/bsagriculture.1746422

View : 74 | Download : 72

Publication Date : 2025-09-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Betaine, a natural methyl donor and osmolyte, influences broiler growth performance, protein and lipid metabolism, and meat quality. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary betaine supplementation on the growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and fatty acid composition of the breast and leg muscles of broiler chickens. A total of 120 one-day-old male Cobb-500 broiler chicks were randomly allocated into 3 groups, each with 10 replicates of 4 chicks, for 42 days. The birds were fed a basal diet without betaine (control) and basal diets supplemented with 1 or 2 g/kg betaine. Dietary betaine increased body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake compared with the control group throughout the trial (P 0.05). Meat quality indicators, including squeezable water loss in the breast muscle, shear force, and cooking loss in both muscle types, were improved by supplementation with 1 g/kg betaine (P 0.05). Furthermore, dietary betaine supplementation significantly modulated the fatty acid composition of the breast and leg muscles (P 0.05). In conclusion, 1 g/kg dietary betaine was the most effective level for enhancing broiler growth efficiency, carcass traits, and meat lipid profile.Therefore, betaine may be used as a functional feed additive to improve broiler performance and meat quality.
Keywords : Betaine, Broilers, Growth performance, Meat quality, Fatty acid profile

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