Juniper oil improves oxidative stability and eggshell and albumin quality of quail eggs

Abstract

1. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of juniper oil (JO) dietary supplementation on the laying performance, egg traits and egg malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations of quail. 2. A total of 400 female Pharaoh quails were equally divided into 4 groups containing 100 quails (5 replicates of 20 quails each). The study included a control treatment with no diet additives, and the treatments were as follows: (group 1) 100 mg JO/kg; (group 2) 200 mg JO/kg; (group 3) 300 mg JO/kg. The experiment was carried out for 60 d. 3. At the end of the experiment, there were no significant differences in body weight, egg weight, egg mass, egg shape index, yolk colour, egg production, feed consumption or feed efficiency. 4. The Haugh unit was increased in groups 2 and 3 compared to the control group. Dietary fortification with JO improved eggshell thickness and breaking strength compared to the control group. Furthermore, the damaged egg ratio was significantly decreased in group 3 compared to the control. The increasing concentration of JO (200 and 300 mg/kg) caused a significant decrease in egg yolk MDA concentration after 15 and 30 d of storage at 20°C. 5. It was concluded that inclusion of JO in layer diets can improve egg quality characteristics in terms of Haugh unit, eggshell thickness and breaking strength. Moreover, supplementation of JO in the diets of quail may enhance the antioxidant status of eggs, and the most effective doses of JO were 200 and 300 mg/kg.

Effects of dietary phytoncides extracted from Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) cone on performance, egg quality, gut microflora, and immune response in laying hens

“…It may be contributed by the aforementioned antioxidative and antibacterial effects of phytoncides. In accordance with our observation, previous studies also demonstrated that dietary EOs improved egg Haugh units in laying hens (Abdel‐Wareth & Lohakare, ; Cengiz, Yesilbag, Meral, Cetin, & Biricik, ; Özek et al., ). Although exact mechanisms for its antioxidative property were not fully understood, a previous study by Kang et al.…”

The Influence of Dehulling on the Nutritional Quality of Lupine Seeds (Lupinus albus L.) and the Effect of Their Use in the Feed of Laying Quails on the Live Performance and Quality of Eggs

“…The decrease in performance response registered for quails from the WLS 25 group was assumed to occur due to the high level of cell wall compounds from the hulls, combined with the presence of non-starch polysaccharides in the kernel, being known for their negative influence on the digestion and absorption of nutrients from poultry feed [14,22]. Results similar to ours (egg intensity, feed consumption, FCR, egg weight) have been previously reported in the case of using standard compound feeds in the feeding of laying quails [69][70][71][72][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84].…”

“…However, Rutkowski et al [68] showed that an amount of up to 250 g/kg of whole yellow lupine seeds in the diets of laying hens did not produce significant changes in the final body weight of birds, compared with the group without lupine. Other studies presented body weight values for laying Japanese quails ranging between 211.5 and 371.1 g [69][70][71][72], an interval where the quail weights from the present research are situated.…”

Effects of juniper berry oil on growth performance and blood parameters in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…Studies have demonstrated the chemical compositions of oils acquired from different parts (such as leaves and burls) of the juniper (Adams, ; Hernandez, Martinez, & Villanova, ; Milos & Radonic, ). Its components have been reported to have effects on the intestinal microbiota (Chaves, He, et al, ), growth performance (Yesilbag, Cengiz, Cetin, Meral, & Biricik, ) and egg and meat quality (Cengiz, Yesilbag, Meral, Cetin, & Biricik, ) in farm animals.…”