The effect of Algasan natural pigment on blood hematological parameters and antioxidant status of Japanese quail

Algae, having a high level of antioxidants, can affect the antioxidant status and the health of birds. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of Algasan® on blood biochemical parameters and antioxidant status of Japanese quail. For this purpose, A total of 204 three-day-old female quail chickens were randomly allocated in a completely randomized design with four treatments and three repetitions and kept until the age of 38 days. Treatments included a control diet or with 1, 2, and 3 g/kg (A1, A2, and A3) Algasan®, respectively. At the age of 38 days, blood samples were collected of two quails from each replicate to assess blood parameters and antioxidant status. Data were analyzed by the GLM procedure of SAS software and means were compared by Tukey's test. The results showed that serum glucose concentration in the A3 treatment (410.63 mg/dL), was significantly different from its concentration in control treatments (359.17 mg/dL) and A1 treatment (38 351.0 mg/dL) (P<0.05). The amount of cholesterol in the control treatment (201.63 mg/dL) was higher than the A3 treatment (151.33 mg/dL) (P<0.05), but the amount of HDL in the control treatment (40.00 mg/dL) was lower than A3 treatment (58.25 mg/dL) (P<0.05). The levels of serum enzymes and plasma antioxidant enzymes, total antioxidant status and malondialdehyde were not affected. In general, the results exhibited that in the natural conditions of Japanese quail breeding, dietary Algasan® supplementation at the level of 0.3% improved some blood parameters, but did not change the antioxidant status of the plasma.