Value added by Spirulina platensis in two different diets on growth performance, gut microbiota, and meat quality of Japanese quails

Abstract

Aim:The growth promoting effect of the blue-green filamentous alga Spirulina platensis (SP) was observed on meat type Japanese quail with antibiotic growth promoter alternative and immune enhancing power.Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on 180 Japanese quail chicks for 4 weeks to find out the effect of diet type (vegetarian protein diet [VPD] and fish meal protein diet [FMPD])- Spirulina dose interaction (1 or 2 g/kg diet) on growth performance, gut microbiota, and sensory meat quality of growing Japanese quails (1-5 weeks old).Results:Data revealed improvement (p<0.05) of weight gain, feed conversion ratio and European efficiency index due to 1, 2 g (SP)/kg VPD, and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD, respectively. There was a significant decrease of ileum mean pH value by 1 g (SP)/kg VPD. Concerning gut microbiota, there was a trend toward an increase in Lactobacilli count in both 1; 2 g (SP)/kg VPD and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD. It was concluded that 1 or 2 g (SP)/kg vegetarian diet may enhance parameters of performance without obvious effect on both meat quality and gut microbiota. Moreover, 1 and/or 2 g (SP) may not be invited to share fish meal based diet for growing Japanese quails.Conclusion:Using of SP will support the profitable production of Japanese quails fed vegetable protein diet.

Effect of feeding duration of <i>Spirulina platensis</i> on growth performance, haematological parameters, intestinal microbial population and carcass traits of broiler chicks

“…With its prebiotic properties (Beheshtipour et al, 2013;de Jesus Raposo et al, 2016), S. platensis is known to possess a stimulating effect on the growth of LAB (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus thermophilus) (Bhowmik et al, 2009). In broiler chickens, S. platensis administration has been associated with the increased intestinal population of LAB (Shanmugapriya et al, 2015b), while in Japanese quails, feeding such algae tended to increase the count of intestinal lactobacilli (Yusuf et al, 2016). Unlike these earlier studies, treatment with S. platensis in the present study did not affect the ileal and caecal populations of LAB.…”

“…A number of studies have revealed the consistent benefits of S. platensis on the growth and health performances of broiler chickens (Qureshi et al, 1996;Raju et al, 2004;Kaoud, 2012;Jamil et al, 2015;Shanmugapriya et al, 2015a;Lokapirnasari et al, 2016;Yusuf et al, 2016). Based on these published data, the authors inferred that S. platensis could be an alternative to in-feed antibiotics for broiler chickens.…”

“…This finding was in accordance with that reported by Shanmugapriya et al (2015b), which showed the decreased E. coli population in the ileal and caecal digesta of broilers when feeding 1% of S. platensis. In the study of Yusuf et al (2016), it was apparent that feeding 2% of S. platensis decreased the numbers of coliform bacteria in the ileocecal contents of Japanese quails fed a vegetarian protein diet. Concomitantly, Nuhu (2013) showed the bacterial clearance capacities of S. platensis in chicks injected with E. coli or Staphylococcus aureus.…”

“…With regard to the health of chicks, S. platensis administration has been demonstrated to decrease the numbers of Escherichia coli and increase lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the intestine of broilers (Shanmugapriya et al, 2015b). Concomitantly, Yusuf et al (2016) reported an increased Lactobacilli population in the gut of Japanese quails with feeding S. platensis. In terms of immunity, earlier studies by Qureshi et al (1996) and Raju et al (2004) reported that feeding S. platensis enhanced the humoral and cellular immune responses and lymphoid organ development of chicks.…”

Application of Quail Model for Studying the Poultry Functional Genomics

“…사료와 영양, 대사와 관련된 연구는 기 존에 진행되었던 형태의 연구가 진행되고 있다. 즉, 메추리 사양에 있어서 필요한 영양소 요구량을 구하거나, 특정 첨가 물이 메추리 성장에 미치는 영향 등에 관한 연구가 진행되 고 있다 (Cullere et al, 2016;Mehri et al, 2015;Yusuf et al, 2016). 메추리에서 다음으로 많이 연구된 분야는 행동과 학 습 관련 분야다.…”