Nutritional value and inclusion levels of residual annatto seed meal in diets for Japanese quails

Abstract

Background: Residual annatto seed meal (RASM) is a byproduct after extraction of bixin in the cosmetic industry and may be used in animal diets. Objective: Two experiments were carried out to determine the nutritive value and effect of RASM inclusion levels in the diets of Japanese quails. Methods: For the digestibility experiment, 160 Japanese quails were distributed in a randomized study with two treatments and 10 replicates with eight birds each. The treatments consisted of a reference diet and a test diet containing 75% of the reference diet and 25% of RASM. For the performance assay, 192 Japanese quails were used in a randomized study with six treatments and four replicates with eight birds each. Treatments consisted of a control corn-based diet (Contr1) and another diet based on sorghum + canthaxanthin (Contr2), and four diets based on sorghum with increasing inclusion levels of RASM (0, 3, 6, and 9%). Results: Digestibility of dry matter and crude protein, metabolization coefficient of gross energy, and retention of calcium and phosphorus were 41.05, 43.12, 47.97, 25.49, and 30.35%, respectively. RASM inclusion did not influence bird productivity; however, feed conversion worsened in treatments with 0–6% RASM inclusion relative to that in Contr1. Yolk color increased due to RASM treatment. Conclusion: RASM may be included in sorghum-based diets for quails at 9%, with improvement in yolk color and no negative effects on productivity and egg quality.

Coloração da gema e análise sensorial de ovos de codornas europeias (Coturnix coturnix coturnix) alimentadas com ração à base de sorgo com adição de farelo de urucum (Bixa orellana L.)

“…This result is consistent with the sensory evaluation of the color attribute (Table 4), in which the panelists, through sensory perception, saw that, from the inclusion of 0.5% of annatto seed meal in the feed, the color of the yolk of the boiled eggs analyzed resembled the corn treatment. The results obtained differ from those found by PIMENTEL-MANI et al (2020), who only managed to achieve yolk color similar to that provided by corn-based diets by adding 3.0% of annatto seed meal to the sorghum-based feed offered to Japanese quails.…”

“…Therefore, when alternative ingredients low in xanthophylls are used, some pigments must be included in the feed to improve the characteristic coloring of the egg yolk (ORTIZ et al 2021). Thus, an alternative pigment additive that can be used in the feeding of quails is the meal from the annatto seed residue (Bixa orellana L.), which is a by-product of the extraction of bixin, a natural dye widely used by the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries (PIMENTEL-MANI et al 2020).…”

“…Studies seek to determine optimal levels of inclusion of annatto seed meal in the diets of laying hens (MELO et al 2021) and broiler chickens (PARENTE et al 2018, LUIGGI et al 2020) in order to improve the quality characteristics of the generated products. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are few studies with the inclusion of annatto seed meal in the diets of quails (PIMENTEL-MANI et al 2020), especially in relation to yolk color and sensory analysis of common quail eggs. Thus, we hypothesized that the use of annatto seed meal in sorghum-based diets given to common quails improves yolk color, thus positively influencing their acceptability by the consumer market.…”