Fatty acid composition of liver and breast meat of quails fed diets containing black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) and/or coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) seeds as unsaturated fatty acid sources

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A study was conducted to evaluate the fatty acid composition of liver and breast meat of Japanese quails fed diets containing black cumin seed and/or coriander seed as unsaturated fatty acid sources. A total of 216 one-day-old Japanese quails were assigned to six experimental groups, each consisting of four replicates having 9 birds per replicate. One group served as control group fed diets without black cumin seed and/or coriander seed. Other groups were fed diets containing 1% black cumin seed, 2% black cumin seed, 1% coriander seed, 2% coriander seed, and 1.5% of each of black cumin and coriander seeds. All the diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The trial lasted for 35 days. Body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were recorded at 1 to 14, 15 to 35, and 1 to 35 days. At the end of experiment, carcass and organ yields, and carcass characteristics were measured. Fatty acid composition of liver and breast meat of quails were determined. Growth performance traits were not different among the groups except for BW gain at 1 to 14 days which was lower (P < 0.05) in quails fed diets containing 2% coriander seed or 1.5% of black cumin and coriander seeds. Dietary black cumin seed and/or coriander seed had no effect on carcass and organ yields, cooking loss, and water holding capacity of breast fillet of quails. However, quails fed control diets had greater (P < 0.05) breast meat pH15 and pHu. C16:0 and C18:1 were identified as the key fatty acids of the liver whereas C16:0, C18:1, and n-6 C18:2 were major contributor of breast meat fatty acids representing about 85% of total fatty acids. Quails fed diets with black cumin seed and/or coriander seed had greater (P = 0.041) n-6 C18:2 concentration in breast meat. Diets containing a combination of black cumin and coriander seeds reduced n-6 C18:3 in breast meat (P = 0.007). Black cumin seed (1% or 2%) in quail diets increased n-3 C18:3 in breast meat (P < 0.001). Total PUFA and total n-6 concentrations, and PUFA:SFA ratio in quail breast meat were lower in control group (P = 0.038, P = 0.005, and P = 0.043, respectively). In conclusion, findings of the present study suggest that black cumin and/or coriander seeds can be used to improve the fatty acid composition of breast meat of quails without any effect on overall growth performance.