Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Black Cumin Seeds (Nigella sativa) on Performance, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality of Japanese Quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract

The current study was conducted to determine the effect of adding black cumin (Nigella sativa) powder (BCP) to the Japanese quail diet on the carcass characteristics and meat quality. In this research, 240 Japanese quail chicks (mean initial body weight 9.15 ± 0.12) were divided into four groups of four replications each. Treatments consisted of the addition of BCP at levels 1, 2, and 4% to the mixed feed and control group without the BCP additive. Compared to the other groups, the group with the 2% BCP diet had a higher live weight (LW), body weight gain (BWG), and a better feed conversion ratio (FCR, p < 0.05). BCP administration had no impact on the carcass characteristics, however, BCP had a significant effect on the thigh and breast meat. The animal study protocol was approved by the Niğde Governorship, Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkey (protocol code: E-15018773-050.01.04-75932 and date of approval: 26 April 2021) for studies involving animals. Lower thiobarbituric acid (TBA), pH, peroxide, and total psychrophilic bacteria levels were found in the BCP added groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). When compared with the control, the sensory properties such as color, juiciness, softness, and flavor were significantly higher in the BCP treated groups, especially when fed the 2% BCP diet. It can be concluded that BCP as an additive to quail feeds had a significant effect on the performance of quails as well as on the shelf life of the meat. In order to avoid health and environmental concerns, it was concluded that BCP can be used as a natural additive to replace synthetic antimicrobials and antioxidants at the level of 1–2% in quail compound feeds.

Nigella sativa Extract Potentially Inhibited Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Induced Infection in Rabbits: Potential Immunomodulatory and Growth Promoting Properties

“…Similarly, Hannan et al described the stimulating role of N. sativa bioactive compounds on digestion [ 50 ]. This could be attributed to its role as a strong stimulant on digestive enzymes [ 51 ] and its potency in increasing the retention of nutrients with a positive reflection on their utilization. Moreover, the promising effects of N. sativa on growth performance are assumed to be due to its high nutritive value along with its pharmacologically active compounds [ 51 ].…”

Supplementation of Herbal Seeds to Improve the Growth Performance and Digestion in Japanese Quail (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)

“…Use of black cumin produced highest body weight compared with all other treatments, better FCR than control, good dressing percentage and higher gizzard and intestinal weights than control in this study (Arif et al 2019;Aydogan et al 2020;Haq et al 2020;Devi et al 2022;Asghar et al 2022). Black cumin seeds have been used as a natural growth promoter in many trials of broiler and they were found to boost body weight (El-Ghammry et al 2002;Hassan et al 2004), FCR (Takruri and Dameh 1998;Abu-Dieyeh and Abu-Darwish 2008) and carcass characteristics (Guler et al 2006;Toghyani et al 2010).…”

Liposomal encapsulated oregano, cinnamon, and clove oils enhanced the performance, bacterial metabolites antioxidant potential, and intestinal microbiota of broiler chickens

“…The enhancement in sucrase and maltase activities could beneficially influence the digestion of carbohydrates in the gastrointestinal tract ( Yang et al, 2019 ). Additionally, previous studies stated that EOs had a stimulating role in the digestive system, which lead to better absorption and performance of broilers ( amroz, 2002 ; Asghar et al, 2022 ). This could be explained by their great enhancing effects on digestive enzymes ( Asghar et al, 2022 ) and their effectiveness in enhancing the retention and utilization of nutrients ( Elmowalid et al, 2022 ), which are resulted from their incorporation in liposomes particles ( de Souza et al, 2022 ).…”