Oxidative stability and bacteriological assessment of meat from broiler chickens fed diets containing Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces

Thigh muscles were obtained from a batch of 120 broiler chickens fed diets containing 0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0% dried Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces (diets A, B, C, D and E respectively). The thigh muscles were studied as uncooked and steam-cooked, and refrigerated for up to 9 days. Oxidative stability of muscle was measured using the thiobarbituric acid test and bacteria isolates were identified and quantified. Moisture and lipid contents of muscle were not affected (P>0.05) by dietary treatments. Oxidation of refrigerated meat decreased (P