The effect of mustard seed meal(Sinapis arvensis)on thyroid hormones and liver enzymes in Japanese quails(Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Objective:To investigate the effect of wild black mustard seed meal on thyroid hormones(thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone)in Japanese quails and also study the ability of FeSO4 to alleviate the possible negative effect of mustard meal on thyroid hormones in these birds for the first time.Methods:The experimental procedure was undertaken on 28 quails which were randomly assigned to a control and 6 test groups with 4 quails in each group for 28 days,during which the control group received basic diet with no mustard meal whereas the test groups(No.2,3 and 4)received mustard meal(5%,10%and 15%,respectively)and test groups(No.5,6 and 7)received FeSO_(4)(1%)-treated mustard meal(5%,10%and 15%,respectively)on the basic of basic diet.Results:The group fed on 15%non-treated mustard seed meal had the least thyroxine level and its level backed to normal in group fed on 15%FeSO4-treated mustard seed meal although this group had the highest alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels.Conclusions:We concluded that up to 10%FeSO4 mustard seed meal could be incorporated in the quail diet successfully with the least damage to thyroids and livers,but further investigations on these birds are still needed to confirm this hypothesis.