The Effect of Adding Stevia Leaf Powder and Probiotics on Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Intestinal Microbial Population and some Blood Parameters in Japanese quail

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of probiotics (lacto-feed) and stevia leaf powder as phytogenic compound in the diet on performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal microbial population and some blood parameters in Japanese quail.

This experiment conducted as a completely randomized design with 320 Japanese quail chicks and mixture of both sexes (average weight 7-9 g), in four treatments, four replications and 20 chickens per replicate. Experimental treatments included: 1- Diet without additives (control), 2- Diet containing probiotic lactofeed (0.02% up to 21 days and 0.01% up to 42 days) 3- Diet containing 1% stevia leaf powder and 4- Diet containing 2% were stevia leaf powder. The effects of probiotic lacto-feed and stevia leaf powder as phytogenic compound in the diet on yield, carcass characteristics, intestinal microbial population and some blood parameters of Japanese quail.

The results showed that experimental treatments; there was a significant in weight gain and feed conversion ratio between the experimental treatments (p<0.05), which the treatments containing stevia leaf powder had the highest weight gain and the lowest feed conversion ratio, and the difference increased with increasing the percentage of stevia leaf powder (p<0.05). Carcass weight in treatments containing stevia and lacto-feed was significantly higher than the control treatment (p<0.05). Also, the addition of lacto-feed probiotics and stevia leaf powder caused a significant increase in thigh percentage tin compared to the control group (p<0.05). The control treatment had the highest (1.21%) and the lactofeed treatment had the lowest (0.38%) abdominal fat percentage (p<0.05). The highest of triglyceride and VLDL concentrations was observed in the treatment containing probiotic lacto-feed (p<0.05). Also, the treatments containing Stevia leaves powder had higher triglyceride concentration than the control treatment (p<0.05). Blood glucose was significantly higher in the treatment containing probiotic lactofid and in the treatments containing stevia leaf powder was lower tin compared to the control treatment (p<0.05). The effect of experimental treatments on the total population of Aerobic microbes and Coliform was not significant, while the population of Lactobacillus in treatments containing stevia leaf powder was significantly higher than the control treatment (p<0.05).

It can be concluded that the use of stevia leaf powder as a phytogenic compound in the diet improved performance and carcass characteristics of Japanese quail chicks.