The impact of cottonseed meal levels and enzyme mixture supplementation on breast meat colour and blood parameters in quail

ABSTRACT The effects of diets containing various levels (0, 10, and 20%) of cottonseed meal (CSM) and enzyme mixture (0.1%) on quail serum iron, haemoglobin, and haematocrit values and colour values of breast meat were investigated. Four hundred fifty male and female Japanese quail chicks at one day of age were used, and these were divided into six treatment groups. The animals were fed six different diets: a control diet without CSM and enzyme mixture (CSM0−), a control diet without CSM but with enzyme mixture (CSM0+), a 10% CSM diet without enzyme mixture (CSM10−), a 10% CSM diet with enzyme mixture (CSM10+), a 20% CSM diet without enzyme mixture (CSM20−), and a 20% CSM diet with enzyme mixture (CSM20+). With increasing levels of CSM, haemoglobin and haematocrit values exhibited a linear decrease (P<0.01). The results revealed that the influence of CSM levels and enzyme mixture on various colour parameters of breast meat became apparent at different storage durations. However, this effect on the colour parameters did not exhibit consistency over time. It can be said that the diets containing 10 and 20% cottonseed meal with or without enzyme mixture have no negative effect on the meat colour of quail across different storage durations.