Effect of Diet Containing Probiotic on the Properties of Japanese Quail Meat during the Storage Time

Antibiotics remaining in poultry products cause serious diseases such as cancer, allergy, secondary infections, metabolic disorders and increased antibiotic resistance in the microorganisms to the consumers. In this study, the use of probiotics (as an alternative to antibiotics) in Japanese quail feed and its effects on the properties of meat were investigated. The effect of adding a probiotic powder at three levels (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75%) of the diet on the microbial characteristics, quality and shelf-life of Japanese quail meat was studied, and compared with the control sample and the poultries that fed with diet containing 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75% antibiotics. Addition of probiotic resulted in decreasing of the total count of bacteria in the fresh meat, but the amounts of coliforms were not significantly different between the treatments in the first day. Although the total counts and coliforms increased during the storage time, only the seventh day showed significant differences with the other days. On the other hand, Protexin did not cause significant changes in the meat’s water-holding capacity. The evaluation of oxidation in the fresh meat showed that the probiotic supplementation resulted in decreasing of malondialdehyde, and improving of meat quality during the storage time. In addition, assessment of color characteristics indicated that addition of probiotics caused to reduce yellowness, and increase redness and brightness of the fresh meat. During the storage, the redness of meat was maintained, brightness was reduced, and yellowish was increased. Since the adding of probiotic in the diet caused to control the activity of microorganisms, reduced oxidation reactions, increased water holding capacity and improved meat color index, it is a good alternative for antibiotics in the feed of Japanese quail.