Carcass characteristics and some physical quality parameters of meat in male Japanese quails fed by different levels of vitamin E, sesamine and thymoquinone supplemented diets

Abstract

: A fully randomized experimental design, with three hundred and fifty-one days-old Japanese quails located into the seven treatment groups with five replicates and ten quail each were used in the current study. The treatments whereas the basal diet basis corn and soybean meal and (100 and 200 and) of vitamin E, sesamine and thymoquinone. At the end of the study (35 days old) two quails from each pen were selected, weighted, and slaughtered. The carcass percentage was calculated and was eviscerated, thigh, breast and abdominal fat area were removed and the weights of the mentioned organs were measured as a percentage of the organ to the total body weight. The physical analysis of the quail’s meat quality was done by using two quails randomly picked from each treatment to study some qualities of their meat using the color, pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), drip loss and cooking loss parameters. Additionally, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) levels in the thigh and breast meat were measured. Data relieved from the current study showed that there were significant differences according to the thigh and breast weight and abdominal fat percentage between treatments (p≤0.05). The crude protein of tight and breast meat was increase and the ether extract content were decreased instead. Vitamin E, sesamine and thymoquinone supplemented groups were characterized by statistically higher pH values compared to the control group (p≤0.05). The significant differences across treatments in term of water holding capacity were evaluated (p≤0.05). WHC increases and drip loss and cooking loss decreased across the treatments compared to the control group. There was significant decrease for TBA value in quail’s thigh and breast meat which fed by sesame and black seed oil supplemented diets (p≤0.05). In terms of the L*b*a values of the thigh and breast meat in the cold carcass, there were significant differences between the treatments (p≤0.05). In conclusion result of current study vitamin E, sesamine and thymoquinone supplemtation have some beneficial acts in live carcass weight, warm and cold carcass percentage, thigh and breast meat proximate composition, and have no deleterious effect on meat cooking loss, drip loss, color and pH values and lead to better meat quality.