Effects of Supplementing Vitamin E and Nanoparticle-Sized Vitamin E on Growth Performance, Blood Profile, and Meat Quality in Broilers

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of vitamin E and nanoparticle-sized vitamin E (NVE) in a broiler diet on growth performance, blood profiles, and meat quality. A total of 45 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers (initial body weight of 37.00 ± 0.41 g) were used in this experiment for 28 days. All broilers were randomly allocated into three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were as follows: a basal diet (CON), a basal diet supplementing with 380 mg/kg of vitamin E (T1), and a basal diet supplementing with 380 mg/kg of NVE (T2). Each treatment had five replicates with three birds per cage. On days 0-7, the T1 and T2 groups significantly increased (P<0.05) body weight gain compared to the CON group. Also, the T1 and T2 groups significantly increased (P<0.05) vitamin E content in blood and breast meat compared to the CON group. In shearing force, the T2 group showed a lower tendency (P=0.070) than the CON group. The T1 group showed a higher tendency (P=0.086) in the b^* (yellowness) value than the T2 group. On day 7 after the end of the experiment, the T2 group significantly decreased (P<0.05) TBA values compared to the CON group. In conclusion, supplementation with vitamin E or NVE can improve broiler growth performance in the starter period, reduce TBA value through the antioxidant action of vitamin E, prevent lipid oxidation, and improve shelf life.