Evaluation of Protective Effects of ethanolic extract of Punica granatum peel against Oxidative Stress Following cadmium poisoning in Japanese quail

This study was conducted to investigate protective effects of ethanolic extract of Punica granatum peel against Oxidative stress following cadmium poisoning in Japanese quail in a completely randomized design with 4 with 3 replicates (10 birds in each replicate). The treatments were: 1. basal diet, 2. Basal diet + 50ppm cadmium (through drinking water), 3. Basal diet + ethanolic extract pomegranate peel 0.2%+50 ppm Cadmium (through drinking water), and 4. Basal diet + ethanolic extract pomegranate peel 0.2%+50 ppm Cadmium (through drinking water). At the end of the experiment, the level of cadmium in the muscles, Serum biochemical and growth factors weekly and intestinal morphology were measured by ICP-OES, auto-analyzer and by histology, respecity. The accumulation of cadmium in the muscles of the various groups showed a significant reduction (P<0.05) in the group receiving the ethanolic extract pomegranate peel 0.2%. There was no significant difference in AST, glucose, cholesterol, total protein between different treatments (P>0.05). Serum ALT levels were significantly lower in the group receiving 0.1% alcoholic extract of pomegranate peel compared to the cadmium group (P<0.05). Serum urea levels in the recipient groups of ethanolic extract was significantly lower than cadmium group (P <0.05). There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in growth factors (P>0.05) among different groups. In groups receiving extract, a significant increase in height and width of villous was observed (P<0.05). Punica granatum peel extract an additive in quail diet can reduce cadmium accumulation, protect against side effects of cadmium, and improve the performance of Japanese quail.