Alleviation potential of quercetin in laying quails exposed to lead: effects on productive performance, egg quality, cecal microflora, and nutrient digestibility

Abstract

Alleviation potential of quercetin in laying quails exposed to lead: effects on productive performance, egg quality, cecal microflora, and nutrient digestibility Seda IFLAZOGLU MUTLU, Ismail SEVEN, Nurgul BIRBEN, Aslihan SUR ARSLAN, Pinar TATLI SEVEN Abstract Lead (Pb) is one of the most common environmental pollutants and has detrimental effects on human and animal health. This study investigated the protective effects of quercetin on performance, egg quality, cecal microflora, and digestibility against Pb toxicity in laying quails. A total of 112 laying quails were divided into 4 experimental groups. Birds were fed 1 of 4 diets for 8 weeks: 1- Control (basal diet), 2- Pb (basal diet+100 mg/kg Pb), 3- Quercetin (basal diet+400 mg/kg quercetin), 4- Pb+quercetin (basal diet+100 mg/kg Pb+400 mg/kg quercetin). Results showed that the supplemantation of quercetin to Pb group was found to improve egg weight, feed intake and egg production but not statistically significant. Pb or quercetin were not affected significantly egg quality (P>0.05). Moreover, supplementation with quercetin increased the number of Lactobacillus (P<0.05) and decreased the number of coliform in the cecum (P<0.001). No dietary Pb or quercetin effects were observed in digestibility for dry matter and ether extract (P>0.05). Crude protein digestibility significantly decreased in Pb groups (P<0.001), but quercetin alleviated this condition. Consequently, quercetin can improve productive performance, nutrient digestibility and the cecal microbial balance, and may play role in alleviating the toxic effects of Pb exposure in quails. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v10n1a4