# Comparative effects of corn, wheat, and barley diets on broiler growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and consumer sensory evaluation

## TL;DR

This study compares the effects of corn, wheat, and barley diets on broiler growth, meat quality, and consumer acceptance, finding that wheat and barley can be viable alternatives to corn.

## Contribution

The study provides empirical evidence on the comparative impacts of corn, wheat, and barley in broiler diets under enzyme-supplemented conditions.

## Key findings

- Corn-fed broilers had higher body weight gain and better feed conversion ratio compared to wheat and barley diets.
- Wheat reduced abdominal fat while corn increased meat yellowness due to higher carotenoid content.
- No significant differences were found in meat texture, pH, or consumer sensory scores among the diets.

## Abstract

Corn is the main cereal used in broiler nutrition because of its high energy content and carotenoid richness, while wheat and barley offer alternative nutrient profiles that may increase production flexibility. However, their relative impacts on broiler performance, carcass traits, meat physicochemical properties, and consumer sensory perception under standardized enzyme-supplemented conditions remain unclear. This study examined the effects of partially replacing corn with wheat or barley on growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and consumer sensory evaluation in broiler chickens.

A total of 525 male ROSS 308 broilers were randomly assigned to three dietary treatments: corn (C), corn–wheat (CW), and corn–barley (CB), with five replicates of 35 birds each. Diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous and supplemented with a xylanase–β-glucanase complex. Birds were raised for 35 days under controlled environmental conditions. Growth performance, carcass traits, meat color (L*, a*, b*), pH, water-holding capacity, texture profile, and consumer sensory attributes were evaluated using standardized protocols. Data were analyzed using General Linear Model procedures with significance set at p < 0.05.

Broilers fed with corn showed numerically higher body weight gain (+4.8% compared to CW; +4.4% compared to CB) and a tendency toward improved feed conversion ratio (1.52 vs. 1.56–1.58; p = 0.10). Including barley significantly increased abdominal fat (+36% vs. corn; p = 0.04), while wheat resulted in the lowest fat deposition. Meat yellowness (b*) was highest in the corn group at both 45 min and 24 h postmortem (p < 0.05, p < 0.01), reflecting the higher carotenoid content of corn. No significant differences were found among treatments for pH, drip loss, cooking and thawing loss, texture parameters, or sensory scores (p > 0.05). All sensory attributes scored above 4.3 on the 7-point scale.

Moderate inclusion of wheat (12%–20%) or barley (8%–15%) in enzyme-supplemented diets did not affect growth performance, carcass yield, meat physicochemical traits, or consumer sensory acceptance. Wheat might be used strategically to reduce abdominal fat, while corn remains preferred when enhanced yellowness is desired. These findings support the practical use of wheat and barley as viable alternatives to corn in commercial broiler feeding programs.