Abstract
The objective of the present study was to research the effects of different supplemented dietary sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) to produce n-3 enriched meat on growth performance, meat quality, serum antioxidative status, immune response and tibia bone characteristics in Japanese quail. Three hundred 1-day-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly weighed and divided into five dietary treatments containing 0% oil (C, negative control), 2% vegetable oil (VO, positive control), 2% linseed oil (LO), 2% fish oil (FO) and a mixture of 1% linseed oil +1% fish oil (LO+FO). Body weight and feed consumption were recorded. Fatty acid profile, cholesterol content, chemical composition and physical characteristics of breast meat were determined. Serum thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and total antioxidant capacity were measured. No negative effects were detected in live weight, feed consumption and physical characteristics of meat. The incorporation of n-3 PUFA in the meat proved to be successful when different sources of n-3 PUFA were used. The supplementation of n-3 PUFA caused a significant decrease in TBARS values and a significant increase in both the GSH-Px activity and total antioxidant capacity. Interestingly, the inclusion of n-3 PUFA in quail diets enhanced the antibody titre and bone morphological characteristics. Therefore, it can be concluded that the inclusion of n-3 PUFA in diets at moderate levels increased the n-3PUFA content in meat, improved the antioxidative status, reduced lipid peroxidation, enhanced the antibody response and bone morphological characteristics and did not have any negative influence on physical characteristics of meat and growth performance in Japanese quail.