EFFECT OF DIETARY-PROTEIN AND SELECTED ANTIOXIDANTS ON FATTY LIVER HEMORRHAGIC SYNDROME INDUCED IN JAPANESE-QUAIL

The effects of CP and antioxidants on fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) in Japanese quail hens were studied. In Experiment 1, four tre atments were arranged as a 2 x 2 factorial; dietary CP (18 or 24%) and reduced glutathione (GSH, 0 or 120 mg/kg diet) were the major variabl es, but cysteine and other amino acids were higher in the 24% CP diets . Negative control (NC1) and positive control (PC1) diets were also ev aluated. In Experiment 2, the effects of vitamin E (VE) and GSH were e valuated in the presence and absence of adequate dietary sulfur amino acids. Negative control (NC2) and positive control (PC2) diets were us ed. In both experiments, liver hemorrhage was most severe in quail fed the diets that were formulated to induce hepatic steatosis and limit oxidant defense capability. Liver hemorrhage was least severe in quail fed the diets that were formulated to minimize liver lipid accumulati on and support oxidant defenses. Histological evaluation of affected q uail livers showed changes consistent with FLHS in chicken hens. In Ex periment 1, neither CP concentration nor GSH supplementation influence d liver hemorrhage. In Experiment 2, liver hemorrhagic score was reduc ed from 3.8 to 2.7 (P less-than-or-equal-to .05) by adding VE to the b asal diet. The PC2 diet further depressed liver score to only 2.0 (P l ess-than-or-equal-to .05). The data clearly show that Japanese quail a re susceptible to FLHS and indicate that a combination of lipotropic a nd antioxidant nutrients is protective against hemorrhage, even when l ipogenic demands are maximized by feeding diets devoid of added fat.