Dietary riboflavin supplementation improves meat quality, antioxidant capacity, fatty acid composition, lipidomic, volatilomic, and proteomic profiles of breast muscle in Pekin ducks

Our objective was to determine effects of supplemental dietary riboflavin on meat quality, antioxidant capacity, fatty acid composition, lipidomic, volatilomic, and proteomic profiling of duck breast muscle. The results showed that dietary riboflavin supplementation significantly increased growth performance, breast meat yield, intramuscular fat content, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), n3-PUFA, n6-PUFA, redness (a*), and pH24h, but decreased lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*). Furthermore, riboflavin supplementation significantly improved muscle antioxidant capacity based on various biochemical parameters. Lipidomic and volatilomic analyses revealed that riboflavin supplementation markedly increased breast meat phosphatidylglycerol and coenzyme Q contents and two favourable key odorants, citronellyl acetate and 3-(methylthio)-propanal. Proteomics analyses confirmed that riboflavin supplementation activated mitochondrial aerobic respiration, including fatty acid beta oxidation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. In conclusion, supplementing duck diets with riboflavin enhanced breast meat quality, attributed to increases in antioxidant capacity and mitochondrial functions.