Dietary Impact of Launaea taraxacifolia Leaves on Meat Quality Parameters and pH Kinetics in Goliath Chickens of Benin

The processing abilities of chicken meat are strongly influenced by the production system and dietary composition. This study aimed to assess the impact of Launaea taraxacifolia leaf intake on postmortem pH kinetics and the technological quality of Goliath chicken meat. To achieve this goal, forty Goliath chicks of 12 weeks old were divided into two groups and reared until 24 weeks of age. Group 1 was reared under a semi-intensive system with access to L. taraxacifolia grazing, while Group 2 was raised in confinement without access to the plant. The birds of each group were slaughtered at 24 24 weeks old and breast and thigh muscles were sampled to assess pH kinetics and meat quality parameters. The results showed that chickens kept with L. taraxacifolia leaf intake exhibited slightly higher ultimate pH values in both breast (5.62 vs. 5.54; p