Dataset Information

Dynamics of thymol dietary supplementation in quail (Coturnix japonica): Dataset on thymol bioavailability, egg yolk fatty acids profile and performance traits.

ABSTRACT: Dietary supplementation with thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol) has been proposed as a strategy to improve modern intensive poultry production. Moreover, its antioxidant properties and potential beneficial influence on lipid metabolism have fostered current research focusing on enhancing nutritional quality of meat and egg products. In general, studies have focused on the overall effects of dietary supplementation once the supplementation protocol has finished and using only one potential dose, without actually measuring bioactive compounds' concentration in the diet supplied or target tissues. Herein, we provide a unique dataset of the dynamics of thymol bioavailability and biological action, optimal dosage and duration of supplementation needed to achieve meaningful effects, as well as persistence of induced changes after chronic supplement withdrawal. Specifically, during a month-long supplementation period, 5 sampling points were evaluated separated by at least 1 week. Then, a last sampling point was studied after a 3-week withdrawal period. Three increasing doses of dietary thymol were used, and approximately 80 variables assessed. The measured variables were associated with free thymol concentration in feed, egg yolk and droppings, feed and egg yolk fatty acids profile (saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids), performance traits (body weight, feed intake, egg laying rate, egg physical characteristics), general welfare quality assessment (plumage state) and liver histopathology. The data can provide insights on the link between the dynamics of free thymol concentration and the changes in fatty acids profile in quail egg yolk, both during chronic thymol dietary supplementation and after supplement withdrawal. The comprehensive approach used herein for studying thymol supplementation outcome could help understanding the scope of its effects on a whole organism level.

SUBMITTER: Fernandez ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6463762 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Dynamics of thymol dietary supplementation in quail (<i>Coturnix japonica</i>): Dataset on thymol bioavailability, egg yolk fatty acids profile and performance traits.

Fernandez Maria E ME Kembro Jackelyn M JM Ballesteros Maria L ML Caliva Jorge M JM Marin Raul H RH Labaque Maria C MC

Data in brief 20190330

Dietary supplementation with thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol) has been proposed as a strategy to improve modern intensive poultry production. Moreover, its antioxidant properties and potential beneficial influence on lipid metabolism have fostered current research focusing on enhancing nutritional quality of meat and egg products. In general, studies have focused on the overall effects of dietary supplementation once the supplementation protocol has finished and using only one potential dose, ...[more]

PMID: 31011599

Similar Datasets

Project description:Phytogenic additives such as thymol are encountering growing interest in the poultry industry. However, there are still questions concerning dynamics of their bioavailability, biological action, optimal dosage and duration of supplementation needed to achieve meaningful effects, as well as persistence of induced changes after supplement withdrawal. We studied the link between the dynamics of free thymol concentration and the changes in fatty acids composition in quail egg yolk, both during a month-long chronic dietary supplementation and after 3 weeks of supplement withdrawal (post-supplementation). Fifty, 85 days-old, female quail of homogeneous body weights (251±1g) in egg-laying peak were used. To evaluate potential dose-dependent effects, three increasing doses 2, 4, and 6.25 g of thymol/kg of feed (THY2, THY4 and THY6, respectively) and two controls were evaluated (n = 10). In parallel, we assessed the concomitant changes in free thymol excretion, potential liver histopathological changes, and birds´ performance traits. Egg yolk and droppings show a dose-dependent increase in THY concentration after 9 days of supplementation and a decrease after post-supplementation. In egg yolk, these changes were accompanied by reduced saturated fatty acid concentrations achieved by 28 days of supplementation in THY2 and 14 days of supplementation in THY4 and THY6. However, after post-supplementation the aforementioned effect disappeared in THY2 but not in THY4 and THY6. While THY2 failed to increase polyunsaturated fatty acids, THY4 and THY6 increased polyunsaturated fatty acids by day 14 of supplementation and remained increased after post-supplementation. Fatty acids changes induced by thymol are consistent with improved nutritional quality of eggs. No treatment effects were observed in liver histopathology and female performance. Findings suggest that both dose of thymol and duration of supplementation modulate thymol and fatty acids concentrations in egg yolk and thymol concentration in droppings. Furthermore, the persistence of those effects after post-supplementation period is also a dose-dependent phenomenon.

Project description:The social environment can have profound effects on an individual's physiology and behaviour and on the transfer of resources to the next generation, with potential consequences for fecundity and reproduction. However, few studies investigate all of these aspects at once. The present study housed female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) in pairs or groups to examine the effects on hormone concentrations in plasma and yolk and on reproductive performance. Circulating levels of androgens (testosterone and 5-α-dihydrotestosterone) and corticosterone were measured in baseline samples and after standardised challenges to assess the responsiveness of the females' endocrine axes. Effects of the social environment on female fecundity were analysed by measuring egg production, egg mass, fertilization rates, and number of hatched offspring. Counter to expectation, females housed in pairs had higher plasma androgen concentrations and slightly higher corticosterone concentrations than females housed in groups, although the latter was not statistically significant. Pair vs. group housing did not affect the females' hormonal response to standardised challenges or yolk testosterone levels. In contrast to previous studies, the females' androgen response to a gonadotropin-releasing hormone challenge was not related to yolk testosterone levels. Non-significant trends emerged for pair-housed females to have higher egg-laying rates and higher fertility, but no differences arose in egg weight or in the number, weight or size of hatchlings. We propose that our unexpected findings are due to differences in the adult sex ratio in our social treatments. In pairs, the male may stimulate female circulating hormone levels more strongly than in groups where effects are diluted due to the presence of several females. Future studies should vary both group size and sex composition to disentangle the significance of sexual, competitive and affiliative social interactions for circulating and yolk hormone levels, and their consequences for subsequent generations.

Project description:At higher latitudes, vertebrates exhibit a seasonal cycle of reproduction in response to changes in day-length, referred to as photoperiodism. Extended day-length induces thyroid-stimulating hormone in the pars tuberalis of the pituitary gland. This hormone triggers the local activation of thyroid hormone in the mediobasal hypothalamus and eventually induces gonadal development. In avian species, light information associated with day-length is detected through photoreceptors located in deep-brain regions. Within these regions, the expressions of multiple photoreceptive molecules, opsins, have been observed. However, even though the Japanese quail is an excellent model for photoperiodism because of its robust and significant seasonal responses in reproduction, a comprehensive understanding of photoreceptors in the quail brain remains undeveloped. In this study, we initially analyzed an action spectrum using photoperiodically induced expression of the beta subunit genes of thyroid-stimulating hormone in quail. Among seven wavelengths examined, we detected maximum sensitivity of the action spectrum at 500 nm. The low value for goodness of fit in the alignment with a template of retinal1-based photopigment, assuming a spectrum associated with a single opsin, proposed the possible involvement of multiple opsins rather than a single opsin. Analysis of gene expression in the septal region and hypothalamus, regions hypothesized to be photosensitive in quail, revealed mRNA expression of a mammal-like melanopsin in the infundibular nucleus within the mediobasal hypothalamus. However, no significant diurnal changes were observed for genes in the infundibular nucleus. Xenopus-like melanopsin, a further isoform of melanopsin in birds, was detected in neither the septal region nor the infundibular nucleus. These results suggest that the mammal-like melanopsin expressed in the infundibular nucleus within the mediobasal hypothalamus could be candidate deep-brain photoreceptive molecule in Japanese quail. Investigation of the functional involvement of mammal-like melanopsin-expressing cells in photoperiodism will be required for further conclusions.

Dataset Information

Dynamics of thymol dietary supplementation in quail (Coturnix japonica): Dataset on thymol bioavailability, egg yolk fatty acids profile and performance traits.

Publications

Dynamics of thymol dietary supplementation in quail (<i>Coturnix japonica</i>): Dataset on thymol bioavailability, egg yolk fatty acids profile and performance traits.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets