Nutritional profiling of breast muscle: A comparative study between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons

Abstract

This study compares the nutritional profiles of Yuzhong and European meat pigeons to inform breeding and consumer choices. Thirty 28-day-old pigeons were analyzed for protein, fat, moisture, amino acids, fatty acids, and trace elements in breast muscle samples. No significant differences were found in protein, fat, moisture, or essential amino acid levels between breeds. However, Yuzhong pigeons showed higher levels of umami amino acids, monounsaturated fatty acids (particularly oleic acid), and trace elements (copper, iron, zinc, selenium). In contrast, European meat pigeons were richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and DHA. These results highlight nutritional distinctions between the breeds, providing guidance for breeding programs and offering insights for consumers seeking specific dietary attributes in poultry meat.

Keywords: Amino acids; Fatty acids; Nutrient composition; Pigeon; Trace elements.

Fig. 1

The experimental workflow, outlining the comparative analysis of the breast muscle's conventional nutritional composition, including amino acids, fatty acids, and trace elements, in both Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons.

Fig. 2

PCA score plot (A) and loading plot (B) of proximate composition and trace elements composition between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons in breast muscle. Notes: A total of 7 nutritional component variables were selected for analysis. PC1, PC2, and PC3 represent principal components 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The values in Table 5 represent loadings, which indicate the degree and direction of the relationship between each variable and its corresponding principal component. Significant loading values (>0.5) are highlighted in bold, with (+) and (−) signs representing positive and negative correlations, respectively.

Fig. 3

PCA score plot (A) and loading plot (B) of the amino acid composition between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons in breast muscle. Notes: A total of 21 amino acid variables were selected for analysis. PC1, PC2, and PC3 represent principal components 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The values in Table 6 represent loadings, indicating the degree and direction of the relationship between each variable and the corresponding principal component. Significant loading values (>0.5) are highlighted in bold, with (+) and (−) signs denoting positive and negative correlations, respectively.

Fig. 4

PCA score plot (A) and loading plot (B) of the fatty acid composition between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons in breast muscle. Notes: A total of 22 fatty acid variables were selected for analysis. PC1, PC2, and PC3 represent principal components 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The values in Table 7 denote the loadings, which indicate the degree and direction of the relationship between each variable and the corresponding principal component. Significant loading values (>0.5) are highlighted in bold. Positive and negative correlations are represented by (+) and (−) signs, respectively.

Fig. 5

Correlation analysis of proximate composition, trace elements composition, and amino acids composition in breast muscle between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons. Heat map of multidimensional correlation between proximate composition, trace elements composition and amino acids composition of the breast muscle (A). Heat map of multidimensional correlation between moisture, crude protein, crude lipid and amino acids composition of the breast muscle (B). Note: The existence of “*” and “**” indicates a significant difference between the two comparisons. The “ns” stands for no significant difference, *P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, respectively (n = 12 replicate pigeons). Proximate composition and trace element composition were compared pairwise with amino acid composition, where the color gradient and block size reflect Pearson's correlation coefficients (based on Euclidean distance). Partial Mantel's tests were used to analyze the relationship between proximate composition, trace element composition, and amino acid composition. The edge width corresponds to the Mantel's r statistic for distance correlations, and the edge color indicates statistical significance based on 9999 permutations.

Fig. 6

Correlation analysis of proximate composition, trace elements composition and amino acids composition in breast muscle between Yuzhong pigeons and European meat pigeons. Heat map of multidimensional correlation between proximate composition, trace elements composition and fatty acids composition of the breast muscle (A). Heat map of multidimensional correlation between Fe, Cu, Se and Zn content of the breast muscle (B). Note: The existence of “*” and “**” indicates a significant difference between the two comparisons. The “ns” stands for no significant difference, *P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, respectively (n = 12 replicate pigeons). Proximate and trace element compositions were compared pairwise with fatty acid composition, with the color gradient and block size reflecting Pearson's correlation coefficients (based on Euclidean distance). Partial Mantel's tests were employed to relate proximate composition and trace element composition to fatty acid composition. The edge width corresponds to Mantel's r statistic for distance correlations, and edge color indicates statistical significance based on 9999 permutations.