Effect of nucleotide supplementation on haematological and immune parameters of Japanese quails

An experiment was conducted to study the haematological parameters and immune performance of Japanese quails supplemented with graded levels of yeast nucleotide. A total of 120, 3 day old Japanese quail chicks were randomly distributed in completely randomized design into 4 treatment groups (T₁, T₂, T₃ and T₄), each with 3 replicates of 10 quails. The different groups were supplemented with nucleotides @ 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 per cent respectively for a period of six weeks. Delayed type of hypersensitivity test was conducted on the 21st day of experiment to study the cell mediated immune response (CMIR) by randomly selecting six Japanese quails from each group. The sensitized Japanese quails were challenged two weeks later and assessment of reaction was done 24 and 48 hours post challenge. At the end of experiment blood samples were collected to study the haematology and humoral immune response. The results indicated that TEC, TLC, PCV, Haemoglobin and MCHC values in nucleotide supplemented groups of quails were significantly (P<0.01) higher than the control group. Maximum values of all these parameters were noted in T4 group, in which nucleotide supplement was added @ 1.5 per cent in feed. MCV and MCH as well as heterophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, basophil and eosinophil count did not vary significantly due to the supplementation of nucleotides in Japanese quails. Nucleotide supplementation significantly (P<0.05) improved both humoral and cell mediated immune response with maximum in 0.5 and 1.0 percent supplemented groups respectively. It was concluded that nucleotide supplementation improves haematological parameters and immune response of Japanese quails.