Efficacy of betaine as carcass modifier in female broiler chickens to produce leaner carcass for human consumption

Betaine is a methyl group donor which involved in protein and energy metabolism, offering an opportunity to the poultry producers to satisfy consumer needs by producing leaner carcass. This study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of betaine as carcass modifier in female broiler chickens fed diet containing sufficient methyl group donor. Two hundred female day-old chicks (DOC) were allotted to four assay diets with 5 replicates of 10 birds. The starter and finisher diets contained 0.50 and 0.38% methionine as methyl group donor, respectively. The basal diets were fed without supplementation or supplemented with 0.10, 0.20 and 0.30% betaine. The assay diets were fed from the age 8–42 days. Two birds per replicate were slaughtered at the age of 42 days to measure the carcass characteristics. The fat content was derived from breast meat samples. Supplementation of betaine did not influence the slaughter weight, carcass and breast yield, indicating similar growth and carcass production. Furthermore, administration of betaine produced 29.8–42.5% lower abdominal fat pad deposition and 9.2 – 35.9% lower meat fat content than those without betaine administration (P<0.05). It can be concluded that betaine can modify carcass characteristic in female broiler chickens by lowering fat deposition.