INFLUENCE OF USING DIFFERENT OIL SOURCES IN QUAIL NUTRITION ON MEAT COMPOSITION AND QUALITY PARAMETERS

In this study, effects of using different oil sources (sunflower oil, olive oil, fish oil, flax seed oil and nettle oil) in Japanese quail feeding on pH, colour, moisture, protein, fat, myoglobin, total iron, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and fatty acid composition of quail meat were investigated. After two weeks of prefeeding period with standard diet, quails were fed with diet containing five different oil sources for a period of five weeks and slaughtered at the end of the seven weeks. After that, breast meat was removed from carcass and physico-chemical properties of quail meat were evaluated. The results indicated that the meat samples obtained from quails fed with diet containing olive oil and nettle oil had the highest pH levels compared to other groups (p<0.05). No significant differences for fat, protein and moisture levels, and colour values among treatment groups were determined. The lowest myoglobin and total iron levels were determined in meat samples obtained from quails received diet containing flax seed oil and nettle oil (p<0.05). As far as lipid oxidation is concerned, the highest TBARS values were found to be in meat samples obtained from quails received nettle oil (p<0.05). It was determined that the ratio of polyunsaturated (PUFA) and saturated (SFA) fatty acids were higher than 0.4 and the highest PUFA/SFA ratio was found in the meat samples obtained from quails received flax seed oil in diet (p<0.05). Furthermore, quail meat obtained from quails fed with fish oil and flax seed oil had higher eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid compared to other groups (p<0.05). into quail diet.