Plasma activated water effects on behavior, performance, carcass quality, biochemical changes, and histopathological alterations in quail

Usama T Mahmoud; Ghada Abd El-Reda; Fatma Abo Zakaib Ali; Manal A M Mahmoud; Sherief M S Abd-Allah; F M El-Hossary; Nasser S Abou Khalil

doi:10.1186/s12917-024-04231-4

Plasma activated water effects on behavior, performance, carcass quality, biochemical changes, and histopathological alterations in quail

BMC Vet Res. 2024 Sep 4;20(1):391. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04231-4.

Authors

Usama T Mahmoud¹, Ghada Abd El-Reda^{2

3}, Fatma Abo Zakaib Ali⁴, Manal A M Mahmoud⁵, Sherief M S Abd-Allah⁶, F M El-Hossary³, Nasser S Abou Khalil^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal, poultry and aquatic life behavior and management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt. usama.mahmoud@aun.edu.eg.
² Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, 71516, Egypt.
³ Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Sohag, 82524, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, 82524, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Animal Hygiene and Environmental Pollution, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Food Hygiene, Safety and Technology (Meat Hygiene, Safety and Technology), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Badr University, Assiut, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: Plasma-activated water (PAW) is an innovative promising technology which could be applied to improve poultry health. The current study investigated the effects of drinking water supply with PAW on quail behaviour, performance, biochemical parameters, carcass quality, intestinal microbial populations, and internal organs histopathology. A total of 54 twenty-one-day-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly allotted to three treatments provided with PAW at doses 0, 1 ml (PAW-1), and 2 ml (PAW-2) per one litter drinking water. Each treatment contained 6 replicates (3 birds/ cage; one male and two females).

Results: The results clarified that there were no significant (P > 0.05) changes in behaviour, and performance. For the biochemical indicators, the PAW-1 group showed significantly higher serum H₂O₂, total protein and globulin levels compared with the other groups (P = 0.015, < 0.001, and 0.019; respectively). PAW groups had significantly lower serum creatinine and urea levels than the control (P = 0.003). For the carcass quality, the internal organs relative weight between different treatments was not changed. In contrast, there was a significant increase in the meat colour, taste, and overall acceptance scores in PAW groups compared with the control one (P = 0.013, 0.001, and < 0.001; respectively). For the intestinal microbial population, lactobacilli count was significantly higher in PAW-2 compared with the control group (P = 0.014), while there were no changes in the total bacterial count between different treatment groups. Moreover, mild histological changes were recorded in the intestine, liver, and spleen of PAW groups especially PAW-2 compared with the control one.

Conclusions: PAW offered benefits, such as reducing creatine and urea levels, improving meat characteristics, and increasing lactobacilli count, all of which are crucial for sustainable quail farming. Therefore, further research is needed.

Keywords: Behaviour; Blood biochemical; Histopathology; Performance; Plasma activated water; Quail.

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal
Coturnix*
Drinking Water / chemistry
Drinking Water / microbiology
Female
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Male
Meat / analysis
Meat / standards

Substances

Drinking Water