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Abstract
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to determine the effect of diets containing different levels of thyme essential oil (TEO) on performance, some serum parameters and the antioxidative metabolism of the serum and liver tissues in quails. A total number of 200 sixteen-days-old Japanese quails ( Coturnix coturnix japonica ) were used in the study. The animals were divided into 4 groups; the control group was fed only basal diet but groups TEO1, TEO2 and TEO3 had thyme essential oil of 150, 300 and 450 mg/kg, respectively, added to their diets. Body weight and daily weight gain increased with higher levels of thyme essential oil in the feed, yet a statistically significant increase was detected in only group TEO3 (p<0.05). Furthermore, in all of the groups that were fed on TEO, feed intake was significantly higher than that of the control group (p<0.05). In the groups that received thyme essential oil, serum creatinine and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were low, whereas serum magnesium levels were high (p<0.05). Thyme essential oil significantly increased in liver catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and serum CAT and GSH-Px activities, and significantly reduced both liver and serum lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde=MDA) levels (p<0.01). In result, while thyme essential oil partially affected the performance and serum parameters, it had a marked effect on the antioxidant metabolism.
Highlights
For more than half a century antibiotics have been used as growthpromoting feed supplements to enhance yields in poultry production
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of different levels of thyme essential oil on performance, some serum parameters with the antioxidative metabolism (SOD, CAT and GSH activities with MDA rate) of the serum and liver tissues in quails
As it can be seen in this table, when incorporated into feed at a level of 450 mg/kg, thyme essential oil significantly increased body weight on days 30, 37 and 44 of the study, and daily weight gain throughout the trial, excluding the periods between days 3037 and 44-51 (p
Summary
For more than half a century antibiotics have been used as growthpromoting feed supplements to enhance yields in poultry production. Once their detrimental effects on human and animal health were revealed, these synthetic growth promoters were replaced by alternative herbal products and in particular herbal extracts (essential oils) (Popović et al, 2016). Reports indicate that the primary pharmacological effects of thyme arise from thymol and carvacrol, which are the most important bioactive compounds that this plant contains (Aeschbach et al, 1994; Grigore et al, 2010). It is well known that thymol and carvacrol have an antioxidant effect
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