Effect of chia oil addition to quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) diets on growth performance, blood antioxidant status, caecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids, and biomechanical properties of bones

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of chia oil supplementation in quail diets on growth performance, blood antioxidant status, caecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration, and tibia–femur biomechanical properties. A total of 180, one-day-old quail chicks were randomly divided into three groups of 60 chicks each. Each group was randomly divided into six subgroups, each containing 10 chicks. All chicks were fed a diet based on corn and soybean meal. While the control group was fed with the basal ration, the experimental groups were fed with the basal ration and were given 0.2 g/kg and 0.4 g/kg chia oil in addition to the basal ration. The use of chia oil in quails did not affect growth performance parameters. Malondialdehyde and glutathione exhibited a linear response to the increase in dietary chia oil. The superoxide dismutase value exhibited a quadratic response to chia oil use; the glutathione peroxidase value showed a linear and quadratic response to the use of chia oil. Catalase, ceruloplasmin, albumin, total protein, and globulin were not affected by the addition of chia oil. Acetic acid, propionic acid, and total SCFA were linearly affected by the graded level of chia oil. No statistical difference was found in the concentrations of butyric, isobutyric, valeric, isovaleric, isocaproic, and caproic acids and BCFA in quails fed with different levels of chia oil. Feeding a diet containing chia oil did not affect the biomechanical properties of the tibia and femur in quail. It was therefore concluded that diets containing chia oil could be used to improve antioxidant status and caecal short-chain fatty acid values in quails. © 2024, South African Journal for Animal Sciences. All rights reserved.