The present study was designed to assess the impact of dietary supplementation of lemongrass essential oil (LGEO) on growth performance, carcass traits, liver and kidney function, immunity, antioxidant indices and caecal microbiota of growing quail. A total of 200 Japanese quails at 1-week-old were haphazardly allotted to 5 groups of 40 chicks in five replicates (8 per replicate). The first group was the control group, while LGEO was added at levels of 150, 300, 450, and 600 mg/kg diet in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th groups, respectively. Dietary supplementation of LGEO (150, 300 and 450 mg/ kg diet) increased body weight at 3 and 5 wk of age, and increased body weight gain during all periods compared with the control group (P < 0.05). All levels of LGEO improved feed conversion ratio during the periods from 1 to 3 and 1 to 5 wk of age. During 3 to 5 wk, feed conversion ratio was improved in quails fed LGEO (300 and 450 mg/kg diet) compared with the control and other treatments. Carcass traits, plasma globulin, alanine aminotransferase, and urea values did not differ among the treatments (P > 0.05), but the activity of aspartate aminotransferase in the plasma was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in LGEO-treated groups. The total protein and albumin values were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in quails fed levels of LGEO (except 600 mg/kg diet) compared with the control. The inclusion of LGEO in quail diets improved (P < 0.05) plasma lipid profile. The dietary supplementation of LGEO increased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) plasma immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG, and IgA) levels, lysozyme values and activities of superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity, reduced glutathione and catalase compared with the control group. The caecal Coliform, E. coli and Salmonella were lowered (P < 0.0001) in the quails treated with all LGEO levels, but the total bacterial count and Lactobacillus count were increased with dietary supplementation of LGEO levels (300 and 450 mg/kg) compared with those in the control group. The activities of digestive enzymes were significantly higher in birds fed the diet supplemented with LGEO levels than those fed the control diet. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of LGEO can improve the performance, lipid profile, immunity and antioxidant indices and decline intestinal pathogens and thus boost the health status of growing quail.

A total of 200 1-week-old Japanese quails were randomly allocated into five treatment groups, each consisting of 40 unsexed birds (five replicates, eight birds each). Quails were reared in traditional cages (90 × 40 × 40 cm), and feed and water were made available throughout the 5-week trial. The treatment groups were as follows: the 1st was fed basal diet, whereas the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th groups were fed with ration supplemented with nano zinc (Zn-NPs) at doses of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 g/kg diet, respectively. Results showed that, a significant (p ≤ .0001) improvement in body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio was observed in birds fed diets supplemented with 0.2 g/kg of Zn-NPs. Supplementation of Zn-NPs at doses of 0.1–0.3 g/kg diet demonstrated a positive impact on the activity of ALT, AST, and LDH. The liver profile parameters were not statistically influenced (p > .05) by dietary biological nano zinc, with the exception of total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), and low density lipoprotein (LDL). Also, dietary supplementation of biological Zn-NPs at concentrations of 0.1–0.3 g/kg diet demonstrated a positive impact on superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), malondialdehyde (MDA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglobulin M (IgM). Dietary supplementation of Zn-NPs led to an increase in beneficial microbial populations. From the obtained results, Zn-NPs supplementation at 0.2 g/kg diet had a positive effect on the performance and physiological status of growing Japanese quails.

Nano-minerals are used to enhance mineral bioavailability, which helps improve animal growth and health. The use of chemical nano-selenium (Che-SeNPs) has lately attracted great scientific interest, mainly due to its potential benefits for poultry. The current study was conducted to investigate the impact of the dietary supplementation of Che-SeNPs on the growth performance, carcass traits, blood constituents, antioxidant status, immunity, and gut microbiota of Japanese quails. A total of one week-old 180 Japanese quails were randomly distributed into four equal groups, and each group consisted of 45 unsexed birds with five replications (nine birds each). The first group was fed a basal diet without supplementation (0 g/kg Che-SeNPs), and the second, third, and fourth groups were fed diets containing 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g/kg Che-SeNPs, respectively. The results showed that the dietary supplementation of Che-SeNPs significantly (p < 0.0001) increased body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio, but decreased feed intake (p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. The highest values of growth performance were recorded in the group fed 0.4 g Che-SeNPs g/kg feed. Che-SeNPs levels did not affect the carcass traits, relative organs (except liver), or blood hematology (except platelet count and hemoglobin level) of quails. Plasma total protein, albumin, aspartate amino transferase (AST), and urea values were not affected by dietary Che-SeNPs, but alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase values declined. Globulin and creatinine values were linearly increased with the inclusion of Che-SeNPs (0.4 and 0.6 g/kg) in quail diets compared to the control. The supplementation of Che-SeNPs in quail diets significantly improved (p < 0.05) the plasma lipid profile and activities of antioxidant enzymes compared to the control group. Immunoglobulin G values of Che-SeNPs (0.4 and 0.6 g/kg) were higher (p < 0.05) than those in the control group. The groups fed diets supplemented with Che-SeNPs showed lower (p < 0.0001) total bacterial count, total yeast and molds count, Coliform, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., and Salmonella spp. colonization, and higher (p = 0.0003 and 0.0048) lactic acid bacteria counts than those in the control group. In conclusion, Che-SeNPs supplemented up to 0.4 g/kg can improve the performance, lipid profile, antioxidant indices, and immunity, as well as decrease intestinal pathogens in quails during the fattening period (1–5 weeks of age).