Effects of black cumin seed (Nigella sativaL.) on performance and immune system in newly evolved crossbred laying hens

Abstract

Background: A limited number of studies have tested the effect of diets supplemented with black cumin seed (BCS) on the performance of laying hen. Objective: To determine the effects of various levels of dietary BCS on the performance of laying hen. Birds and methods: Three hundred 40-week-old rural Leghorn (White Leghorn males X F1 females of Fayoumi male X Rhode Island Red female) crossbred hens were randomly assigned to four groups with five replicates of 15 birds each (75 laying hens per group), and fed diets supplemented with 0%, 3%, 4% or 5% BCS for 60 days. Statistical analysis was performed by means of ANOVA.Results: BCS at all levels revealed greater egg production, egg weight and egg mass than the control group. Similarly, feed conversion was improved by 0.50, 0.55 and 0.36 points compared to controls with the addition of 3%, 4% or 5% levels of BCS, respectively. Haugh units and yolk weights of eggs from hens that were fed diets containing 3%, 4% and 5% BCS were significantly greater than those from the control group. Supplementation of 4% or 5% BCS significantly increased shell thickness and decreased serum LDL cholesterol and egg yolk cholesterol concentration as compared to other groups. Mean hemagglutination inhibition titers against Newcastle disease virus were higher than in controls. Conclusion: BCS at levels of 4% or 5% positively influenced egg production, egg weight and shell quality. Furthermore, it decreased the concentration of serum LDL cholesterol and egg yolk cholesterol concentrations and enhanced immunity against Newcastle disease virus.

Comparison of the Dietary Supplementation of Lactobacillus plantarum, and Fermented and Non-Fermented Artemisia Annua on the Performance, Egg Quality, Serum Cholesterol, and Eggyolk-Oxidative Stability During Storage in Laying Hens

“…The dietary inclusion of NFA and FA significantly increased the egg weight. This finding agrees with those observed by using fennel and cumin seed to increase egg weight (Aydin et al, 2008;Yalcin et al, 2009;Khan et al, 2013;Abou-Elkhair et al, 2018). Conversely, a high inclusion of A. annua leaves did not significantly increase egg weight, but dramatically decreased FCR (Baghban-Kanani et al, 2018).…”

In-ovo Antiviral Effect of Nigella sativa Extract against Newcastle Disease Virus in Experimentally Infected Chicken Embryonated Eggs

“…In present study least survival rate (33%) was noted in group2 (positive control), while highest was noted in group added ribavirin (83%), followed by Nigella group (75%) ( Table.1). Our these results corroborate with Khan et al (2013) who also reported decreased mortality rate in laying hens using Nigella sativa. Likewise, Omer et al (2014) reported 80 % survival rate, when Ribavirin drug was used in NDV infection.…”

“…In this study, Nigella sativa showed strong positive effects and varying degree of hypertrophy of various organs and accretion of lymphocytes in liver and other lymphatic organs ensuring elevated resistance against NDV as also conferred by Khan et al (2013), that Nigella sativa have the ability to increase and modulate body musculature and immunity (Table. 2). This high degree of activity may be due to the presence of some active components such as, thymoquinone that produces remarkable effects against virus.…”

Nigella sativa (black seed) effects on plasma lipid concentrations in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials

“…Almost all previous experimental studies in animals [23,24,26,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][79][80][81], but one [25], showed a reduction in LDL-C after NS supplementation. Consistently, small clinical studies confirmed a significant LDL-C reduction after the consumption of NS in both healthy individuals [27] and dysmetabolic patients [28,29,45].…”