Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of adding different levels of black cumin seed (BCS) to the compound feed on performance, serum criteria, and reproductive hormones in male Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix Japonica). 80 male Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix Japonica) at the age of 21 days were used in the study. The trial was carried out with 5 repetitions in 4 treatment groups (20 subgroups with 4 animals in each cage) and completed in 3 weeks. The treatment groups were as follows: Group A (the control group fed with basal feed, 0%); Group B (the group fed with basal feed + 0,5% black cumin seed); Group C (the group fed with basal feed + 1,0 % black cumin seed); and Group D (the group fed with basal feed + 2,0% black cumin seed). In the study, it was found that the addition of black cumin seed to the rations of male quails had no significant effect on their performance, testicular characteristics, serum parameters, and reproductive hormones. However, it was also found that the addition of 0,5% BCS caused an increase in the ratio of testicular weight to live weight, and the serum FSH levels tended to decrease with the addition of BCS; so there is a need for more studies on this subject.
Highlights
Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is an herbaceous plant with medicinal and aromatic properties and belongs to the Ranunculaceae family
Different levels of Black cumin seed (BCS) addition did not have a significant effect on the LWET which varied between 177.44 g and 180.20 g in the groups
LWG was found to be lower in the Group D compared to the other groups (P>0.05)
Summary
Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is an herbaceous plant with medicinal and aromatic properties and belongs to the Ranunculaceae family It is cultivated annually and can grow about 20-30 cm high (Demirci et al, 2019). Many studies reported that black cumin seed had antimicrobial, antiviral, antiuretic, antidiabetic, antitumoral and antioxidant properties thanks to the phenolic compounds it contains (Tufan et al, 2015; Haseenaet al., 2015; Güler et al, 2016; Usta et al, 2016; Kumar et al, 2017). Some previous studies found that the antioxidant components in the structure of medicinal and aromatic plants could eliminate free radicals and prevent the harmful consequences of oxidative stress
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