Red fruit (Pandanus conoideus L.) oil enhances antioxidant status and meat quality in broiler without compromising productivity

Red fruit (Pandanus conoideus L.) oil contains high antioxidants to prevent oxidative stress in broilers. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with red fruit extract on productivity, blood biochemicals, intestinal histomorphology, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and antioxidant gene expression in broilers. A total of 280 Indian River day-old-chick broilers were divided into 4 treatments: basal feed with the addition of 0 (CTRL), 0.15 % (RFO-SCa15), 0.30 % (RFO-SCa30), and 0.45 % (RFO-SCa45) red fruit oil calcium saponification. Each treatment consisted of 7 replicates with 10 birds per replicate. The results showed that the red fruit oil supplementation had no effect on FI, BW, BWG, and FCR during the grower phase (P>0.05). However, the addition of 0.45 % red fruit extract increased FCR and decreased index performance (IP) in the finisher phase (P<0.05). Red fruit oil did not influence the dry matter (DM), ash content (AC), crude protein (CP), extract eter (EE), and lactic acid content of meat (P > 0.05). Conversely, the addition of red fruit extract significantly reduced 1,1-diphenyl-2-pikrilhidrazil (DPPH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in meat (P<0.05), although no significant difference was found between RFO-SCa15 and CTRL for DPPH. The yellowness (b*) value of meat was higher in the RFO-SCa30 and RFO-SCa45 groups compared to the CTRL group (P<0.01), while no differences were observed in pH, lightness (L), redness (a*), cooking loss, and tenderness (P>0.05). Furthermore, red fruit oil upregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) (P<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 0.30 % red fruit oil calcium saponification improved the potential of meat quality and reduced oxidative stress markers without affecting broiler productivity. These findings highlight the potential red fruit oil as a natural antioxidant in broiler diets.