Impact of Antioxidant Addition To Quail Feed on Progeny's Antioxidant Status and Glutathione Peroxidase 1 Gene Expression

Abstract

In this study, the effect of antioxidant supplementation in breeder quail feed on the performance, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity, and expression level of glutathione peroxidase 1 gene in liver tissue of progeny at hatching and 21-d-old were investigated. A total of 432 Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) breeders (a total of 432 breeders, 324 female and 108 male) were divided into six groups. Breeder quails in the control group were fed with a basal breeder quail ration. Birds in the experiment groups were fed with commercial breeder feed supplemented with 0.35 mg/kg Sel-Plex, 40 mg/kg L-carnitine, 50 mg/kg DL-methionine, 250 mg/kg vitamin E, and 10 mg/kg taurine, respectively. After four weeks of the breeder feeding period, 1200 eggs were placed in the incubator, 200 fertile quail eggs from each group. Hatched chicks were placed in the same trial groups as the breeders and fed with basal quail chick ration. Breeder quails and progeny were fed ad libitum for four weeks. The lowest hatchability of total eggs, fertility, and hatchability of fertile eggs was determined in the taurine group (77.5%, 91.5%, 84.70%, respectively) (p<0.05). Mid-term embryo mortality did not occur in the selenium group (p<0.05). Body weight, feed consumption, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio of progeny were not affected by supplementation with antioxidants (p>0.05). Supplementation of methionine and vitamin E increased glutathione peroxidase enzyme concentration in liver tissue of chicks at hatching (1.58 ng/mg and 1.88 ng/mg, respectively) and 21-d-old (2.74 ng/mg and 2.72 ng/mg, respectively). The addition of antioxidants to the diet increased the total antioxidant capacity in liver tissue only at hatching (p<0.05). Dietary antioxidant supplementation to breeder feed down-regulated GPX1 gene expression in progeny at hatching. As a result, antioxidant supplementation to breeder basal diet affected the hatchability of total eggs, fertility, embryonic deaths, glutathione peroxidase enzyme concentration, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase 1 gene expression levels.