Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Black Cumin Seeds (Nigella sativa) on Performance, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality of Japanese Quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Simple Summary Over the last decade, there has been a surge of interest in the use of natural herbs as antibiotic alternatives or natural feed additives in diets to boost animal productivity and optimize the potential production. One of the natural feed additives is black cumin powder (BCP), which is characterized by high antioxidant activity and high phenolic contents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of varying levels of BCP added to the Japanese quail diet on the growth, slaughter carcass, sensory features, and some meat preservation properties. It is worth noting that BCP lowered the overall quantity of bacteria and increased the quality of meat preservation. According to our findings, the supplementation of BCP had a positive influence on the quail growth, lipid profile, antioxidant, immunity, meat storage quality, pH, and decrease in pathogenic bacteria content. The current study was conducted to determine the effect of adding black cumin (Nigella sativa) powder (BCP) to the Japanese quail diet on the carcass characteristics and meat quality. In this research, 240 Japanese quail chicks (mean initial body weight 9.15 +/- 0.12) were divided into four groups of four replications each. Treatments consisted of the addition of BCP at levels 1, 2, and 4% to the mixed feed and control group without the BCP additive. Compared to the other groups, the group with the 2% BCP diet had a higher live weight (LW), body weight gain (BWG), and a better feed conversion ratio (FCR, p < 0.05). BCP administration had no impact on the carcass characteristics, however, BCP had a significant effect on the thigh and breast meat. The animal study protocol was approved by the Nigde Governorship, Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkey (protocol code: E-15018773-050.01.04-75932 and date of approval: 26 April 2021) for studies involving animals. Lower thiobarbituric acid (TBA), pH, peroxide, and total psychrophilic bacteria levels were found in the BCP added groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). When compared with the control, the sensory properties such as color, juiciness, softness, and flavor were significantly higher in the BCP treated groups, especially when fed the 2% BCP diet. It can be concluded that BCP as an additive to quail feeds had a significant effect on the performance of quails as well as on the shelf life of the meat. In order to avoid health and environmental concerns, it was concluded that BCP can be used as a natural additive to replace synthetic antimicrobials and antioxidants at the level of 1-2% in quail compound feeds.