Assessment of lipid profile and carcass traits in quail, fed on diet with incorporation of peppermint leaf powder at various levels

A study was carried out to assess the effect of dietary incorporation of Peppermint Leaf Powder (PLP) on the lipid profile and carcass quality of J.quails. Day-old Japanese quails (N=150) were distributed randomly to five dietary groups each with three replicates of 10 birds. Experiment diets were prepared with the incorporation of Peppermint Leaf Powder at 0% (T1: control), 0.75% (T2), 1.5% (T3), 2.25% (T4), and 3.0% (T5) levels by marginal adjustment of other feed ingredients. All the rations were made iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. The birds were housed in battery cages during the experiment period of 0-5 weeks. Two birds per replicate and a total of six birds per treatment were slaughtered at the end of 5^th week. Serum total cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C, triglycerides (p<0.05), and creatinine (p<0.01) was significantly decreased with increasing levels of PLP. Whereas, serum HDL-C values were increased significantly (p<0.05) with an increase in PLP level in the diet. Live weight, carcass weight, and dressing percentage were significantly (p<0.05) increased with increasing levels of PLP. Mean scores of sensory evaluations for all the parameters (color, flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and overall acceptability) of meat were increased significantly (p<0.05) at 3.0% PLP when compared with the other treatment groups. It is concluded that PLP can safely be incorporated up to a 3.0% level in the diet without any adverse effect on the meat quality of quail.