The survey of Tissue Properties in Testes, Ovaries and Intestines of Japanese Quail with Diets Containing Frankincense Powder and Its Essential Oil

This study was performed to investigate the effects of frankincense on growth performance, hematology, intestinal morphology, and testicular and ovarian histology in Japanese quails. The experiment was conducted with 450 Japanese quail chicks in a completely randomized design with 6 treatments and 5 replicates (15 chicks per replicate). The experimental treatments were as follows: basal diet with no additives (control treatment), and basal diet supplemented with bacitracin antibiotic (treatment 2), 1g/kg of frankincense powder (treatments 3), 2g/kg frankincense powder (treatments 4), 20 mg/kg frankincense essential oils (treatment 5), or 40 mg/kg frankincense essential oils (treatment 6). The results showed that the number of white blood cells in treatment 5 was significantly greater than those in   treatments 2 and 4 (P<0.05). The internal connective tissue layer of the testes was thicker in treatment 6 than that in the treatment 4 (P<0.05). In contrast, no significant effect of frankincense powder or essential oils on growth performance, hematology, and morphological features of the intestine, ovarian, and testes was observed as compared with the control group (P>0.05). In conclusion, the use of frankincense powder or essential oils increased the number of white blood cells but it did not change the other parameters.