Effects of nanochitosan supplementation on productive performance of Japanese quail

Abstract

Summary: The present study evaluated the effects of chitosan nanoparticles (ChNP) as a feed additive during the 1-42 d of age on growth performance, blood serum parameters, carcass traits, intestinal bacteria, digestive enzymes, and fat digestibility. Two hundred and forty of 1-d-old Japanese quail were randomly distributed into four groups and fed a basal diet for 42 d. Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were fed 0.0 mg/kg diet (control group), 200-mg ordinary chitosan/kg diet, 50-mg ChNP/kg diet, and 200-mg ChNP/kg diet, respectively. The highest (P < 0.05) final weight and weight gain were recorded in group 4. The feed intake and mortality ratio were not affected significantly by ChNP supplementation. The best feed conversion ratio was recorded by groups 2 and 4. Blood serum parameters were within the normal range; however, serum total triglyceride and malondialdehyde were increased significantly in the control group. The highest values for total Lactobacillus and Enterococcus count in the intestine were observed in the ChNP and chitosan groups. The coliform count was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the control group and group 3 than in the other groups. Carcass weights in groups 2 and 4 were significantly heavier (P < 0.05) than in the other groups. However, the abdominal fat weight was higher (P < 0.05) in the control group than in the other groups. The lipase activity was decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in groups 2 and 4 compared with the control group. These results concluded that the addition of ChNP had a positive effect on productive performance of Japanese quail.

Keywords

• chitosan nanoparticles
• quail
• carcass traits
• intestinal bacteria
• fat digestibility