The Effects of Dietary Herbal Powders on Growth, Intestinal Physiology and Meat Quality of Quails (Coturnix japonica)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of supplementing quail diets with 0.5% thyme, sage, mint, and oregano powder on nutritional performance. A total of 400 one-day-old quail chicks, standardized for live weight, were randomly assigned to five treatment groups with four replicates per group (20 chicks per replicate). The groups were allocated to treatments as C—control, T—thyme, S—sage, M—mint, and O—oregano. The experiment lasted for 35 days. Chicks were reared in cages sized 70 × 90 × 60 cm, with a 10 cm layer of wood shavings on the ground. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. At the end of the experiment, live weight gain and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) colonization in ceca were significantly higher in the T (thyme) and O (oregano) groups compared to the C, S and M groups (p < 0.05). Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the breast meat were lower in the S, M and O groups compared to the C group. Jejunal villi length was significantly greater in the S and O groups compared to the others (p < 0.05). In the ileum, villi height was higher in the T group than in the other groups (p < 0.05). The villi height/crypt depth ratio in the jejunum was significantly higher in the T and O groups compared to the C group (p < 0.05), whereas in the ileum, this ratio was lower in the S group than in the other groups. Mucin-2 level in the ileum was significantly reduced in the S, M and O groups compared to the C group (p < 0.05) and was similar between T and C. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with vegetative powder of thyme and oregano can be used to improve growth, intestinal villi morphology and LAB colonization in quails. Also, low-dose herbal powder supplementation can be used to suppress MDA formation in the breast meat stored at 4 °C for 3 days