The effect of Algasan natural pigment on the fatty acids profile of Japanese quail meat

Enriching the fatty acid composition of poultry meat is an important issue. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Algasan pigment on the fatty acids profile of Japanese quail meat with four treatments, three replicates, and 17 chickens per replicate in a completely randomized design. Experimental diets include: 1- Basic diet (control), 2- Basic diet + 0.1% Algasan (A1), 3- Basic diet + 0.2% Algasan (A2), 4- Basic diet + 0.3 % Algasan (A3). At 38 days of age, two male quails were randomly selected from each replicate to determine the fatty acid profiles of the meat. The data were analyzed by SAS software and the mean squares of the parameters were compared by Tukey test. The results showed that the control treatment had the highest percentage of myristoleic acid (0.245), oleic acid (0.260), and trans linoleic acid (0.150), A1 treatment had the highest percentage of heptadecanoic acid (0.160), oleic acid (35.350) and total fatty acids with an unsaturated bond (43.035) and the lowest percentage of omega-6 fatty acids (30.060), A2 treatment had the highest echosamenoic acid (0.185), cis linoleic acid (30.185), omega-6 fatty acids (32.485) and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (33.100) and A3 treatment had the most trans linolenic acid (0.200) (P≤0.05). In general, the results of the present study show that Algasan pigment at the level of 0.1% of the diet can be effective in improving the fatty acids profile of quail meat.