Abstract
We evaluated the radical-scavenging activity and antioxidative components in chicken meat. Meat samples from three kinds of broiler chicken (thigh, chest, sasami, wing, skin, liver and gizzard), jidori (thigh, chest, sasami, wing, skin, liver and gizzard), and herb-fed chicken (thigh and chest) were tested. The radical-scavenging activity was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-HPLC and 8-hydroperoxy-2'-deoxyguanosine oxidation methods. The amounts of ascorbic acid, tocopherol, polyphenol and glutathion were also determined as possible antioxidative components. All the samples of the chicken meat had radical-scavenging activity, the liver having particularly high activity. The chest meat had significantly higher activity than the other parts of the herb-fed chicken and jidori. Among the antioxidative components, the amount of glutathion was very low, and almost no ascorbic acid or tocopherol was present. However, the herb-fed chicken had significantly higher polyphenol activity than the broilers in the thigh and chest samples,which may have be due to the herb-feeding. These results demonstrate that the antioxidative components in the feed can be transported to the chicken meat.
