Dietary nutrients not only play a crucial role in growth and pectoralis muscle production of broilers but also are associated with the occurrence of pectoralis myopathies. Soybean oil is commonly added to animal diets to increase energy density. Inadequate storage conditions of soybean oil may induce accelerated lipid peroxidation and progressive quality deterioration, thereby posing significant health risks to poultry through feed consumption. This study systematically examined the interaction effect between dietary metabolizable energy (ME) densities (3,100 and 3,220 kcal/kg) and soybean oil types (fresh and oxidized soybean oil) on multiple physiological indices and incidence of wooden breast (WB) myopathy in growing broilers. The results showed that high ME diet with oxidized soybean oil can disrupt lipid metabolism and redox homeostasis, resulting in muscle damage and higher overall incidence and severity WB myopathy in growing broilers.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.