Abstract:
The aim of this study was to develop a diet suitabl
e for obtaining quail eggs enriched
with omega-3 fatty acids with minimum disadvantages
on egg quality. This 12 weeks
study was performed to investigate the effects of F
ish Oil (FO) and Savory (
Satureja
khuzestanica
) Essential Oil (EO) supplementation in diets of la
ying quails at different
ages, on their performance, egg quality, fatty acid
composition, and oxidation of egg yolk.
One hundred and ninety-two Japanese quails were all
ocated to 8 groups (24 birds in each)
with four replicates (having 6 birds in each) in a
factorial arrangement with 3 variables:
Age (31 and 12 weeks), FO (0 and 15 g kg
-1
), and EO (0 and 500 mg kg
-1
). The results
showed that FO supplementation partially improved f
eed conversion ratio, hen-day egg
production, egg weight and egg mass. There were no
significant differences in albumen
and shell weight percentage, but yolk percentage wa
s significantly lower in FO groups.
Savory essential oil significantly decreased shell
thickness (P< 0.05). Percentage of yolk
eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic Aci
d (DHA) increased but
Arachidonic Acid (AA) percentage and the ratio of
n
-6/
n
-3 fatty acids decreased in the
eggs of the birds fed on diets supplemented with FO
. Also EO supplementation decreased
omega-3 enriched egg yolk lipids oxidation during r
efrigeration and room temperature
preservation. Thus, it is possible to produce quail
's
n
-3 enriched eggs, which can improve
public health and be used for marketing purposes wi
thout any loss in eggs quality
through dietary administration of FO and EO.
Keywords
: Dietary administration, Herbal antioxidant, Quail
n
-3 enriched eggs,
Performance, Yolk oxidative stability.
