Effect of Dietary Chitosan, Nano-Chitosan Supplementation and Different Japanese Quail Lines on Growth Performance, Plasma Constituents, Carcass Characteristics, Antioxidant Status and Intestinal Microflora Population

Abstract

A wide variety of feed additives like prebiotics are recently used in poultry diets as better alternative to antibiotic growth promoters, chitosan is one of those prebiotics. Chitosan is a natural bio-polyaminosacharides, biodegradable and non-toxic biopolymer (Vimal et al., 2013) derived from alkaline deacetylation of chitin from shrimp wastes and fungal biomass (Darwesh et al., 2018). Chitosan has specific bioactivities such as immune-enhancing properties and antibacterial activities (Alishahi, 2014). Many of studies have been performed on chitosan research Article Abstract | This study aimed to examine the effects of dietary chitosan (CH) and nano-chitosan (NCH) supplementation as prebiotics on growth performance, carcass characteristics, plasma constituents, antioxidant status and microbial counts of two lines of Japanese quail. A total of 840 unsexed selected Japanese quail (SJQ) and Japanese quail ( JQ) (one day old) with an average initial body weight of 11.65 ±0.03 g and 9.11± 0.04 g, respectively were used in 10 treatment groups, each group has 3 replicates having 28 quail chicks in each. The experimental groups for each line were as follows: The 1 st group was fed the basal diet and served as the control; the 2 nd and 3 rd groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with CH at 50 and 70mg/kg diet; the 4 th and 5 th groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with NCH at 30 and 50 mg/kg diet. The results showed that SJQ group had a higher (P<0.0001) live body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and better feed conversion ratio. The group of SJQ birds fed diet supplemented with 70 mg CH had the highest (P<0.05) live body weight. The diet supplemented with 70 mg CH gave the highest plasma total protein (P<0.05) for SJQ and JQ groups. Diets supplemented with 70 mg CH or 50 mg NCH exhibited the highest albumin level and TAOC (P<0.0001). The lowest cholesterol content (P<0.05) was obtained by SJQ groups fed diet supplemented with 70 mg CH or 50 mg NCH and JQ groups having 70 mg CH or 50 mg NCH. The lowest LDL cholesterol content (P<0.0001) of plasma was for SJQ fed diet supplemented with 70 mg CH and JQ fed diet supplemented with 30 mg NCH. Supplementation of 30 and 50 mg NCH recorded higher (P<0.0001) Lactobacillus count and the lowest (P<0.0001) E.coli and Salmonella counts for SJQ and JQ. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of CH and NCH in different quail lines diets could be used as an antioxidant and antibacterial additive without causing any negative effects on growth performance, carcass characteristics and plasma constituents.

Interactive effects of dietary protein and nano-chitosan on growth performance, immune response, and histological aspects of lymphoid organs in broiler chickens

“…Apart from a plant protein source, broiler chickens fed the diets enriched with nano-chitosan exhibited comparable means of FBW, BWG, and FCR to those fed the control diets, with no significant differences among them (Table 2 ). This result is consistent with the findings of Hassan et al ( 2021 ), who found no positive effect of feeding NCH-fortified (30 or 50 mg/kg) diets on growth performance of Japanese quail. With laying hens, Hamady and Farroh ( 2020 ) reported that feeding diets supplemented with NCH (50 or 200 mg/kg) did not significantly affect rate of egg production, egg weight, and FCR from 23 to 34 weeks of age.…”

“…According to the current findings, Xu et al ( 2020 ) reported that enriching diets of weaning pigs with NCH (200 or 400 mg/kg) resulted in an increase in plasma concentration of IgG at 28 days of age, but the level of IgM was not affected. In line with our outcomes, Hassan et al ( 2021 ) reported that dietary fortification with NCH (30 or 50 mg/kg) caused a significant rise in plasma concentrations of TAC of Japanese quails compared with the control birds. Consistent also with our results, Hamady and Farroh ( 2020 ) demonstrated that laying hens fed NCH-enriched diets (200 mg/kg) showed a significant reduction in egg yolk contents of MDA in comparison to the control hens.…”

Immune response, hematological traits, biochemical blood parameters, and histological status of laying hens influenced by dietary chitosan-oligosaccharides

“…According to Osho and Adeola (2020) , dietary COS improved intestinal health in broiler hens by lessening the detrimental consequences of stress. Furthermore, Japanese quails’ antioxidative state was improved by adding COS and nano chitosan, which also increased catalase activity, a characteristic enzymatic antioxidant in poultry ( Hassan et al, 2021 ). Moreover, COS can help improve nutrition transport ( Chen et al, 2022 ), maintain the intestinal barrier afterward, and minimize cellular apoptosis ( Na et al, 2022 ), converting nutrients into hormones used in steroidogenesis.…”

Examining The impact of Chitosan and Nano-Chitosan Addition on The expression Levels of SOD and CAT Genes in Two Lines of Japanese Quail

“…Studies by Guan [6] and Hassan, [7] underscore the biological benefits of chitosan as a feed additive, including antibacterial, antioxidant, cholesterollowering, and immunomodulatory properties. Notably, supplementation with chitosan and nanochitosan has been reported to enhance the antioxidative state of Japanese quails, elevating the activity of catalase (CAT), a key enzymatic antioxidant in poultry [7] Further, research by Xu [8] suggests that Chito oligosaccharide…”