Received: 10 November 2017 | Accepted: 7 February 2018

DOI: 10.1111/jpn.12880

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Carcass characteristics, chemical and fatty acid composition

and oxidative stability of meat from broiler chickens fed black
cumin (Nigella sativa) seeds

P. Kumar | A. K. Patra | G. P. Mandal | B. C. Debnath

Department of Animal Nutrition, West

Bengal University of Animal and Fishery
Sciences, Kolkata, India
Correspondence
Amlan Kumar Patra, Department of Animal
Nutrition, West Bengal University of Animal
and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, India.
Email: patra_amlan@yahoo.com
Summary
A study was conducted to investigate the dietary supplementation of black cumin
seeds (BCS) on carcass characteristics, chemical and fatty acid (FA) composition and
antioxidant properties of thigh and breast meat of broiler chickens at 42 days of age.
Three hundred sixty 1-­day-­old broiler chickens were allocated to five dietary treat-
ment groups (each group containing eight replicate pens with each pen containing
nine broiler chickens): basal diet (control; CON), CON + 0.05 g/kg of bacitracin meth-
ylene disalicylate (AB), CON + 5 g/kg of BCS (low dose of BCS), CON + 10 g/kg of
BCS (medium dose of BCS) and CON + 20 g/kg of BCS (high dose of BCS). Weight (g)
of slaughtered birds (p = .03), hot carcass (p = .007), breast (p = .03), thigh (p < .001),
wing (p = .06), neck (p = .01), liver (p = .09), abdominal fat (p = .01) and total edible
parts (p = .01) increased or tended to increase due to BCS supplementation com-
pared with the CON. The concentrations of dry matter, crude protein and ether ex-
tract in chicken thigh and breast meat increased (p = .038 to <.001) with increasing
doses of BCS in diets. The ferric reducing antioxidant activity in blood and meat in-
creased linearly with increasing doses of BCS in the diets. However, peroxide values
in meat were not affected by BCS and AB on both days 1 and 7 of storage at 4°C.
Supplementation of BCS increased the concentrations of C14:1, C18:3n-­6, C20:1,
C20:2 FA and PUFA linearly (p < .05) and tended to increase (p = .098) the concentra-
tion of C18:2cis linearly. However, the concentrations of C16:0 and C16:1 FA de-
creased linearly with increasing doses of BCS in the diets. In conclusion, dietary
supplementation of BCS at 20 g/kg diet may improve slaughter body weight, benefi-
cial FA concentrations and antioxidant properties of broiler chicken meat.

KEYWORDS
antioxidant property, black cumin, carcass traits, essential oil, fatty acid composition

1 | I NTRO D U C TI O N & Kroismayr, 2008). Therefore, the application of most AB has

been banned or restricted in many countries, especially in the
The use of antibiotic growth promoters (AB) in poultry diets has European Union since 2006. This resulted in an intensified search
led to concerns over cross-­resistance amongst pathogens and for alternative natural growth promoters to sustain growth and
the presence of residues in meat (Windisch, Schedle, Plitzner, laying performance and health of chickens (Windisch et al., 2008).

J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. 2018;1–11. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jpn

© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH | 1
2 |
Phytogenic feed additives have gained widespread interests in the
feed industry in current years (Windisch et al., 2008). Aromatic
plants and essential oils (EO) extracted from these plants have
become more important alternatives as feed additives because
of their antimicrobial properties and stimulating effects on the
digestive systems of animals (Pathak et al., 2017; Windisch et al.,
2008) besides many other beneficial physiological effects, for
example anti-­
i nflammatory, antioxidant and immune-­
s timulant
properties (Forouzanfar, Bazzaz, & Hosseinzadeh, 2014). In this
context, the use of EO-­r ich plant materials could be more practi-
cal for the small-­s cale livestock farming system.
Nigella sativa L. (black cumin), an aromatic herbaceous plant,
has been used as a natural remedy for many ailments and a culi-
nary ingredient for centuries (Forouzanfar et al., 2014). Black cumin
seeds (BCS) and its EO have been widely used in traditional med-
icine including as a diuretic and antihypertensive, digestive appe-
tite stimulant, anthelmintic and antibacterial agent (Forouzanfar
et al., 2014). High concentrations of oil (220 to 404 g/kg BCS) with
mostly polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; 480 to 700 g/kg oil) and
proteins (209 to 312 g/kg BCS) are present in BCS (Sultan et al.,
2009). The EO (4 to 15 g/kg BCS) of BCS contains thymoquinone
(233 g/kg), dihydrothymoquinone (38.4 g/kg), p-­
c ymene (320
g/kg), carvacrol (104 g/kg), α-­thujene (24 g/kg), thymol (23.2 g/
kg), α-­pinene (14.8 g/kg), β-­pinene (17.2 g/kg) and t-­anethole (21.0
g/kg) as major constituents with strong antioxidant and free radical
scavenging activities (Sultan et al., 2009). Thus, the use of BCS in
poultry diets could be suitable as an ingredient as well as a feed
additive due to the presence of high concentrations of nutrients
and a variety of pharmacologically active principles in it (Kumar &
Patra, 2017).
The possibility of using of BCS as a natural feed additive to
improve growth performance, efficiency of feed utilisation and
immune response of birds has been explored in some studies (Al-­
Beitawi & El-­G housein, 2008; Durrani et al., 2007; Kumar, Patra,
Mandal, Samanta, & Pradhan, 2017; Tufan, Arslan, Sari, & Kaplan,
2015). Besides using BCS as a growth promoter, supplementation
of BCS may be a simple and suitable approach to introduce nat-
ural antioxidants into meat owing to the presence of antioxidant
properties, which could improve chicken meat quality. Moreover,
fatty acid (FA) profile of tissues may also be modulated due to an-
tioxidant activities of the BCS constituents. For instance, dietary
supplementation of oregano EO and its components thymol and
carvacrol exerted antioxidative properties effectively retard-
ing lipid peroxidation in tissues and meat (Botsoglou, Christaki,
& Fletouris, 2002; Ciftci, Simsek, Yuce, Yilmaz, & Dalkilic, 2010;
Hashemipour, Kermanshahi, Golian, & Veldkamp, 2013), decreas-
ing total saturated FA (SFA) and increasing total PUFA and ω-­6 FA
in thigh meat of broiler chickens (Ciftci et al., 2010; Hashemipour
et al., 2013). However, there is no or limited study examining the
responses of BCS on FA composition in meat and antioxidant sta-
tus in blood and meat of broiler chickens. We hypothesised that
feeding of BCS, which contains EO with antioxidant properties,
may increase slaughter body weight and alter proximate and FA
KUMAR et al.
composition improving antioxidant properties of broiler meat.
Hence, a study was conducted to investigate the effects of BCS on
carcass characteristics, chemical and FA composition and antioxi-
dant properties of meat of broiler chickens.
2 | M ATE R I A L S A N D M E TH O DS
All the animal experimentation procedures were approved by the
Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (West Bengal University of
Animal and Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, India).
2.1 | Broiler chickens, experimental design,
diets and management
Three hundred sixty 1-­
day-­
old mixed sex broiler chickens
(Vencobb 400; Venkys, Pune, India) were weighed and placed in
40 replicate floor pens (i.e., nine broiler chickens per pen), and
randomly assigned to five dietary groups comprising of eight repli-
cates per treatment. A basal diet based on corn and soybean meal
was formulated using ration formulation software according to
the nutritional requirements (Vencobb 400 management guide;
Venkys) for Vencobb broiler chickens in different growth phases
(Table 1). The basal diet was fed in mash form and contained no
antibiotic growth promoter (AB) or other growth factors (control;
CON). The basal diet was supplemented with bacitracin methyl-
ene disalicylate (BMD) product (containing 100 g BMD kg−1) as
an AB at the rate of 0.5 g/kg diet (i.e., 0.05 g BMD kg−1 diet). The
ground BCS was added to the basal diet at the rate of 5 g (low
dose of BCS; LBC), 10 g (medium dose of BCS; MBC) and 20 g (high
dose of BCS; HBC) per kilogram diet to obtain three BCS dietary
groups. The BCS were obtained from a local spice store (Kolkata,
India), air-­dried, ground and mixed with the diets (Tables S1 and
S2). All diets contained similar metabolisable energy and protein
concentrations. The feeds and water were provided ad libitum to
the chickens.
The experimental poultry farm, feeding and watering troughs
were properly cleaned and disinfected 15 days prior to the arrival
of chicks. Water, glucose and electrolyte solutions were offered to
the chicks on day 0. Continuous light was provided to the broiler
chickens during the first 14 days, and then lighting schedule was
adjusted to 23 hr per day. The room temperature was gradually de-
creased from 35°C on day 1 to 25°C on day 22. Proper ventilation
was ensured throughout the entire experimental period. All the birds
were vaccinated against Newcastle disease on days 5 and 20, and
infectious bursal disease on day 14.
2.2 | Collection of blood
On day 35, blood samples (2 ml) were collected from wing vein of
broiler chickens (one broiler chicken randomly chosen from each
pen), and serum was separated and stored in a deep freeze at −20°C
for further analysis.
TA B L E 1 Ingredient and nutrient composition (in g/kg unless otherwise stated) of the broiler chicken diets

Days 1 to 14 Days 15 to 28 Days 29 to 42

KUMAR et al.

CON AB LBC MBC HBC CON AB LBC MBC HBC CON AB LBC MBC HBC
Ingredient composition
Maize 572.2 572.2 570.2 566.4 558.7 600.9 600.9 597.0 587.0 584.8 651.1 651.1 647.0 643.2 629.3
Soybean meal 377.3 377.3 374.9 372.8 368.5 341.4 341.4 339.3 342.7 333.6 284.3 284.3 282.3 280.2 281.6
Rice bran oil 15.0 15.0 15.34 16.19 17.92 26.42 26.42 27.28 29.06 30.0 32.21 32.21 33.29 34.18 36.84
Black cumin seed 0 0 5.0 10.0 20.0 0 0 5.00 10.0 20.0 0 0 5.0 10.0 20.0
Dicalcium phosphate 12.45 12.45 11.53 11.55 11.58 9.02 9.02 9.04 9.00 9.09 9.12 9.12 9.14 9.16 9.13
Limestone powder 11.25 11.25 11.28 11.27 11.24 12.56 12.56 12.54 12.52 12.50 12.11 12.11 12.09 12.08 12.04
Sodium chloride 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.63 2.63 2.63 2.64 2.64 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.75 2.76
DL-­methionine 2.72 2.72 2.71 2.71 2.77 2.15 2.15 2.19 2.18 2.28 2.19 2.19 2.18 2.17 2.19
L-­lysine 2.27 2.27 2.32 2.36 2.46 1.27 1.27 1.31 1.18 1.45 2.22 2.22 2.27 2.31 2.22
L-­threonine 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.62 0.62 0.61 0.60 0.51
Maduramycine (10 g/kg) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Toxin bindera 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Sodium bicarbonate 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Organic trace mineral 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
premixb
Vitamin premixc 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15
Choline chloride 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Antioxidantd 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Phytase 5000 e 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
BMDf 0 0.5 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0 0
Nutrient composition
ME (Mcal/kg)g 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 2.95 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.05 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15
Crude proteinh 220 224 222 225 224 214 212 211 213 216 201 198 199 201 204
Crude fath 31.5 35.0 36.2 35.7 37.5 43.5 45.2 45.1 45.7 45.0 50.5 59.8 50.9 53.0 53.7
Crude fibreh 39.5 39.5 39.8 40.0 40.4 37.7 37.7 37.9 38.1 38.2 34.8 34.8 35.1 35.2 35.9
Calciumh 10.2 11.0 10.7 11.2 11.5 9.41 9.02 8.93 9.32 9.28 8.62 8.23 8.51 8.53 8.72
Available phosphorusg 4.53 4.53 4.53 4.53 4.53 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 3.91 3.92 3.93 3.92 3.92
Lysineg 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1
Methionineg 6.21 6.21 6.21 6.21 6.21 5.44 5.42 5.52 5.42 5.53 5.20 5.20 5.20 5.20 5.30
Methionine+cysteineg 9.52 9.52 9.41 9.41 9.41 8.62 8.62 8.62 8.62 8.62 8.10 8.10 8.10 8.03 8.03
Threonineg 8.43 8.43 8.43 8.43 8.43 7.71 7.71 7.71 7.81 7.81 7.21 7.21 7.21 7.21 7.21
CON, control; AB, antibiotic; BCS, black cumin seeds; BMD, bacitracin methylene disalicylate; ME, metabolisable energy; LBC, MBC and HBC, BCS added at the dose rate of 5, 10, and 20 g/kg diet
respectively.
a
Niltox™, Zeus Biotech Limited, Mysore, India.
b
Contains (per kilogram): Zn proteinate: 50 g; Fe proteinate: 30 g; Cu proteinate: 10 g; Se proteinate: 0.5 g; Mn proteinate: 50 g; I: 4 g; and Cr proteinate: 0.4 g (Zeus Biotech Limited, Mysore, India).
c
Contains (per kilogram): retinol: 24 g; cholecalciferol: 0.4 g; tocopherol: 64 g; menadione: 8 g; thiamine: 6.4 g; riboflavin: 40 g; niacin: 96 g: pantothenic acid: 64 g; pyridoxine: 12.8 g; folic acid: 6.4 g; cobal-
amin: 0.164 g; and biotin: 0.24 g.
d
Endox, Kemin Industries, Inc., USA.
e
Quantum Blue, AB Vista, Wiltshire, UK.
f
BMD was added to the diets as top dressed.
g
|

Calculated values.
h
3

Analysed values.
4 |
2.3 | Measurements of carcass traits
Body weight (BW) of broiler chickens in each pen was recorded on day
42. Average BW of total broiler chickens in each pen was considered as an
average BW of the replicate, and one male broiler chicken (closest to the
average pen BW of chickens) from each replicate pen (eight male broiler
chickens in each treatment) was selected, weighed and killed by cervical
dislocation followed by exsanguination. The chickens were slaughtered
after an overnight fasting (approximately 12 hr), but water was made
available to the chickens. Hot carcass weight was measured with giblets
but without skin, and different body parts were weighed. The proportions
of different cut parts and giblets were expressed in percentage of slaugh-
ter BW of broiler chickens. Calculation of dressed yield was as follows:
Hot carcass weight = slaughter BW − (weight of blood, skin,
feather, head, shank and intestine)
Dressing % = (hot carcass weight) × 100∕(slaughter BW)
2.4 | Analysis of chemical composition of feeds and
meat
Feeds and meat samples were analysed (AOAC 1990) for dry mat-
ter (DM; method 934.01), CP (method 968.06; Kelplus, Pelican
Equipments, Chennai, India), crude fibre (Foss Fiber Cap 2021 Fiber
Analysis System; Foss Analytical, Hilleroed, Denmark) and ether ex-
tract (EE; method 920.39; Socsplus, Pelican Equipments, Chennai,
India). Calcium contents of feeds and concentrations of neutral de-
tergent fibre and acid detergent fibre in BCS were analysed following
the standard methods as described previously (Kumar et al., 2017).
2.5 | Analysis of fatty acids
Concentrations of FA in BCS, feeds and breast meat were de-
termined by capillary gas chromatograph (GC) on a HP-­
88,
100 m × 0.25 mm × 0.20 μm capillary column (Agilent Technologies Inc.,
Santa Clara, CA, USA) installed on a Varian 450 GC and equipped with
a flame ionization detector (Varian B.V., the Netherlands) following the
standard method described by Mandal, Roy, and Patra (2014). Helium
was used as a carrier gas at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. Initial oven tempera-
ture of 120°C held for 1 min was increased at 10°C/min to 175°C, which
was maintained for 10 min, then increased to 210°C at a rate of 5°C/min
holding for 5 min. Finally, temperature was raised at 5°C/min to 230°C.
Temperatures for both the injector and the detector were set at 260°C.
Identification and quantification of individual FA were performed using a
purified standard (Supelco 37 component FAME mix, trans-­11-­vaccenic
methyl ester, and octadecadienoic acid conjugated methyl ester; Sigma-­
Aldrich Chemical Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, India) and an internal standard (tride-
canoic acid; Sigma-­Aldrich Chemical Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, India).
2.6 | Analysis of antioxidative and peroxidation
values of thigh and breast meat
Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of serum and meat sam-
ples was measured following the method of Benzie and Strain (1996).
KUMAR et al.
The principle of this method is based on the reduction in a ferric-­
tripyridyltriazine complex to its coloured ferrous form in the presence
of antioxidants. The FRAP values were calculated against absorbance
(593 nm) of 1 mmol of FeSO4 as a standard solution. FRAP value was
expressed in mmol Fe2+ L−1 of serum and mmol Fe2+ kg−1 of meat.
Frozen thigh and breast meat samples (stored at −20°C) were
thawed at 4°C, and the peroxide value (PV) was determined on days
1 and 7 following the method of Koniecko (1979). Briefly, an amount
5 g of chopped meat sample was blended with 30 ml chloroform in
the presence of anhydrous sodium sulphate. The filtrate (pass through
Whitman filter paper No. 1) was added with 30 ml of glacial acetic
acid and 2 ml of saturated potassium iodide solution and left for 2 min
with occasional shaking, and thereafter, 100 ml of distilled water and
2 ml of fresh starch solution (10 g/L) were added. The content was ti-
trated against 0.1 N sodium thiosulphate to obtain the endpoint (non-­
aqueous layer turned to colourless). The PV was calculated as follows:
PV (meq/kg sample) = [(0.1 × ml of 0.1 N sodium thiosulphate)/
sample weight (g)] × 1,000.
2.7 | Statistical analyses
All the data were analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the
mixed models procedure of sAs (Version 8, 2001). Linear and quadratic
effects of dietary BCS (0, 5, 10 and 20 g BCS kg−1) on all measure-
ments were assessed using polynomial contrasts. Unequal doses of
BCS were considered for generation of code using proc IML of sAs
(2001). Orthogonal contrasts between CON vs. AB, CON vs. all BCS
groups and AB vs. all BCS groups were also determined to study the
effects of BCS together and AB compared with the CON. Variability in
the data was expressed as the pooled SEM, and statistical significance
was set at p ≤ .05, while a trend was considered at .05 < p ≤ .10.
3 | R E S U LT S
3.1 | Carcass characteristics
Carcass characteristics expressed as average weight values are pre-
sented in Table S3. Carcass characteristics expressed as an aver-
age weight was not affected by AB in comparison with the CON,
except neck weight (g) was higher (p = .02) for the AB than for the
CON (Table S2). Weight (g) of breast (p = .03), thigh (p < .001), wing
(p = .06), neck (p = .01), liver (p = .09), abdominal fat (p = .01) and total
edible parts (p = .01) increased or tended to increase due to BCS
supplementation compared with the CON except drumstick (p = .70)
and non-­edible parts (p = .25). Weight (g) of breast (p = .01) and
neck (p = .06) increased quadratically, while the weight (g) of frame
(p = .05), thigh (p < .001), wing (p = .09), abdominal fat (p = .04), bursa
(p = .08) and edible parts (p = .02) increased linearly with increasing
supplementation of BCS in the diets. Weight (g) of thigh (p = .01) and
liver (p = .04) was also greater for the BCS than for the AB (Table S3).
Weight (g) of slaughtered chickens (p = .05) and hot carcass (p = .05)
increased quadratically with increasing supplementation of BCS in
the diets and they were greater (p < .05) in the BCS groups than the
KUMAR et al. | 5

CON group (Table 2). Dressing percentage tended to increase linearly
(p = .08) with increasing doses of BCS (Table 2). Carcass characteristics
expressed as percentage of slaughter BW were not affected by AB in
comparison with the CON, except weight percentage of neck (p = .08)
and heart (p = .06), which tended to be higher for the AB than for the
CON. Percentage of thigh weight (p = .034) was higher for BCS than
for CON, and gizzard weight (p = .094) tended to be lower in the BCS
groups than in the CON group. The percentage of drumstick weight
(p = .041) was higher in the AB group than in the BCS groups while
percentage of thigh weight (p = .07) and liver weight (p = .06) tended
to be higher in the BCS groups in comparison with the AB group. Thigh
weight (%) increased linearly (p < .001) with increasing doses of BCS.
Other carcass characteristics were not influenced by AB and BCS.
muscle, concentrations of DM and CP were greater in the BCS groups
than in the CON and AB groups, which increased quadratically (p < .001)
with increasing doses of BC, and were highest for the MBC group.
Concentrations of EE and total ash in the thigh muscle increased linearly
with increasing concentrations of BCS in diets, and were also greater in
the BCS groups than in the AB group. The concentrations of DM, EE and
CP in the breast muscle were greater in the BCS groups than in the CON
group except EE concentration in the LBC group. In the breast muscle,
concentrations of DM increased linearly, CP and EE increased quadrati-
cally with increasing concentrations of BCS in the diets. Total ash content
in the breast muscle was similar among the groups. Concentration of EE
in the breast muscle of the AB group was lower than that of the CON and
BCS groups.

3.2 | Chemical composition of breast and 3.3 | FRAP values in serum and meat, and peroxide
thigh muscle values in meat

Concentrations of DM and CP were higher (p = .02 to <.001), and EE The values of FRAP in serum were increased by AB (p = .05) and BCS
concentrations were lower (p < .001) for AB than for CON in both thigh (p = .003) compared with the CON, and increased linearly with in-
and breast muscles (Table 3). Total ash content was not affected by creasing doses of BCS in the diets (Table 4). The FRAP values in serum
AB compared with the CON in both thigh and breast muscles. In thigh were similar among the AB and BCS groups.

TA B L E 2 Effects of black cumin seed supplementation on slaughter body weight, hot carcass weight and other carcass characteristics (%
of slaughter body weight) in broiler chickens at 42 days of age

Treatment p-­Value

CON vs. CON vs. AB vs.

CON AB LBC MBC HBC SEM AB BCSa BCS L Q

Slaughter BW (g) 2,341 2,411 2,409 2,586 2,493 57.4 .39 .026 .21 .047 .046
Hot CW (g) 1,593 1,666 1,659 1,777 1,737 39.9 .20 .007 .21 .098 .048
Dressing (%) 67.9 69.1 68.9 68.8 69.7 0.63 .22 .13 .98 .081 .87
Breast (%) 22.0 22.2 22.4 22.6 21.7 0.78 .87 .70 .86 .56 .26
Frame (%) 11.9 11.9 11.4 11.6 12.2 0.44 .97 .61 .58 .29 .11
Thigh (%) 8.46 8.56 8.78 8.76 10.0 0.30 .80 .034 .066 <.001 .24
Drumstick (%) 10.0 10.4 8.79 9.72 9.27 0.31 .42 .27 .041 .099 .88
Wing (%) 6.48 6.75 6.84 6.85 6.98 0.294 .53 .24 .69 .29 .61
Neck (%) 2.36 2.57 2.47 2.41 2.43 0.080 .080 .45 .16 .72 .68
Gizzard (%) 2.44 2.38 2.27 2.15 2.30 0.100 .68 .094 .23 .40 .072
Liver (%) 1.85 1.76 1.97 1.90 1.95 0.079 .42 .33 .054 .54 .67
Heart (%) 0.44 0.50 0.49 0.44 0.45 0.021 .056 .48 .097 .82 .64
Gibletsb (%) 4.72 4.64 4.72 4.50 4.70 0.116 .58 .50 .99 .73 .23
Abdominal fat (%) 1.87 1.98 2.09 2.22 2.16 0.157 .61 .11 .33 .21 .25
Spleen (%) 0.118 0.127 0.123 0.114 0.103 0.008 .39 .63 .13 .095 .47
Bursa (%) 0.044 0.058 0.041 0.046 0.059 0.008 .25 .61 .35 .12 .46
Edible partsc (%) 65.9 66.9 66.6 66.4 67.4 0.601 .25 .25 .80 .13 .88
d
Non-­edible parts 34.0 33.0 33.4 33.6 32.6 0.601 .25 .25 .80 .13 .85
(%)

CON, control; AB, antibiotic; LBC, MBC and HBC, black cumin seeds (BCS) added with 5, 10, and 20 g/kg diet respectively; BW, body weight; CW,
carcass weight; L, linear effect; Q, quadratic effect; SEM, standard error of mean.
a
BCS values are the mean values of LBC, MBC and HBC.
b
Giblets included heart, liver and gizzard.
c
Edible parts included breast, frame, thigh, drumstick, wing, neck, gizzard, liver and heart.
d
Non-­edible parts were calculated deducting edible parts from slaughter body weights of broiler chickens.
6 | KUMAR et al.

TA B L E 3 Effects of black cumin seed supplementation on chemical composition (%) of thigh and breast muscles of broiler chickens at
42 days of age

Treatment p-­Value

CON vs. CON vs. AB vs.

CON AB LBC MBC HBC SEM AB BCSa BCS L Q

Thigh meat
Dry matter 25.2 25.9 25.6 27.6 27.3 0.18 .016 <.001 <.01 <.001 <.001
Crude protein 19.0 21.9 22.9 23.3 23.0 0.12 <.001 <.001 <.001 <.001 <.001
Ether extract 2.63 1.80 2.32 2.83 3.13 0.109 <.001 .31 <.001 <.001 .12
Total ash 1.13 1.03 1.07 1.11 1.24 0.048 .14 .91 .055 .038 .11
Breast meat
Dry matter 28.4 28.9 28.5 29.5 29.4 0.12 .002 <.001 .27 <.001 .010
Crude protein 21.8 23.4 22.9 23.7 23.3 0.17 <.001 <.001 .54 <.001 <.001
Ether extract 1.08 0.826 1.06 1.49 1.12 0.061 .006 .040 <.001 .25 <.001
Total ash 1.38 1.31 1.34 1.41 1.46 0.050 .40 .60 .13 .15 .63

CON, control; AB, antibiotic; LBC, MBC and HBC, black cumin seeds (BCS) added with 5, 10, and 20 g/kg diet respectively; L, linear effect; Q, quadratic
effect; SEM, standard error of mean.
a
BCS values are the mean values of LBC, MBC and HBC.

TA B L E 4 Effects of black cumin seed supplementation on ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of chicken meat and serum (mmole
Fe+2 L−1 or kg−1) and peroxide values (meq/kg) of chicken meat on days 0 and 7 kept at 4°C

Treatment p-­Value

CON vs. CON vs. AB vs.

CON AB LBC MBC HBC SEM AB BCSa BCS L Q

FRAP value
Blood 0.69 0.85 0.73 0.98 0.98 0.057 .051 .003 .51 <.001 .16
Meat
Thigh 0.84 1.36 1.04 1.12 1.16 0.098 <.001 .023 .033 .033 .25
Breast 0.68 1.17 1.26 1.31 1.39 0.133 .015 <.001 .33 .002 .029
Peroxide value
Thigh muscle
Day 1 6.98 7.43 6.88 7.48 7.25 1.271 .81 .88 .88 .83 .89
Day 7 13.1 12.0 11.8 12.7 12.2 0.902 .40 .39 .86 .66 .71
Breast muscleb
Day 1 6.67 6.00 6.88 5.93 6.84 1.05 .67 .92 .67 .99 .65
Day 7 8.78 8.30 8.34 7.06 8.15 0.701 .65 .26 .60 .47 .17

CON, control; AB, antibiotic; LBC, MBC and HBC, black cumin seeds (BCS) added with 5, 10, and 20 g/kg diet respectively; L, linear effect; Q, quadratic
effect; SEM, standard error of mean.
a
BCS values are the mean values of LBC, MBC and HBC.
b
Using the crude fat content in breast meat as covariate, peroxide values tended to decrease (p = .082) compared with CON, which also tended to de-
cline quadratically (p = .095) as the level of BCS increased.

The values of FRAP in thigh and breast meat were increased by
AB (p < .001 and .02 respectively) and BCS (p = .02 and <.001 respec-
tively) compared with the CON, and increased linearly (p = .03 and
.002) with increasing concentrations of BCS in the diets. The FRAP
values were similar among the AB and BCS groups in the breast, but
were greater in the AB group than in the BCS groups for thigh meat.
Peroxide values in thigh and breast were not affected by BCS and
AB on both days 1 and 7. Peroxide values were greater (p < .001) in
thigh meat than in breast meat. Concentration of EE in meat is a fac-
tor determining the peroxide values. Therefore, statistical analysis
of peroxide values using the EE content as covariate indicated that
peroxide values in breast meat, but not in thigh meat, tended to de-
crease (p = .082) in the BCS groups compared with the CON group,
which also tended to decline quadratically (p = .095) as the concen-
trations of BCS in the diets increased.
3.4 | Fatty acid composition of breast meat
The concentrations of C14:0 (p = .10) and C16:0 (p = .06) FA in
breast meat tended to increase in the AB group compared with
KUMAR et al. | 7

the CON, while C17:0 and C23:0 FA concentrations were lower
in the AB group than in the CON group (Table 5). The concentra-
tions of C14:1, C17:0, C20:1, C20:2 and PUFA were significantly
lower (p < .05), and the concentrations of C18:3n-­6 , C20:0, C20:5,
C23:0 and C22:6 tended (.05 > p ≤ .10) to be lower in the AB group
than in the BCS groups, whereas the concentrations of C16:0 and
C16:1 FA were greater in the AB group than in the BCS groups.
Supplementation of BCS increased the concentrations of C14:1,
C18:3n-­6 , C20:1, C20:2 and PUFA linearly (p < .05), and tended to
increase (p = .098) the concentration of C18:2cis linearly. However,
the concentrations of C16:0, C16:1 and C23:0 FA decreased lin-
early with increased doses of BCS in the diets. The concentrations
of other FA in breast were not affected by BCS and AB.
4 | D I S CU S S I O N
4.1 | Diet and BCS chemical composition
Diets fed to broiler chickens in different treatments had similar protein
and metabolisable energy concentrations (Table 1). Concentrations
of individual FA, total SFA and PUFA were also similar among the
treatments (Table S2). Thus, any effects of BCS addition on responses
of broiler chickens are unlikely due to dietary major nutrients and
FA composition, but may be attributed to the bioactive compounds.
Chemical composition of BCS was similar to the earlier reports (Gharby
et al., 2015; Sultan et al., 2009). Gharby et al. (2015) reported EE con-
tent of 270 to 370 g/kg with high concentration of PUFA and protein
content of 233 to 265 g/kg seeds. The EE of BCS contained high con-
centrations of PUFA, which was also reported in earlier studies (Sultan
et al., 2009).
4.2 | Carcass characteristics
Slaughter BW, dressing percentage and weight of thigh, breast, edi-
ble internal organs and abdominal fat in chickens were increased due
to dietary BCS supplementation in this study, which were generally
in agreement with the reports of other studies (Erener et al., 2010;
Guler, Dalkılıc, Ertas, & Ciftci, 2006; Saleh, 2014). Feeding of BCS
at 10 g/kg feed and AB increased the weight of liver, abdominal fat,
thigh, breast, wings and neck of chickens (Guler et al., 2006). Carcass
weight in quails was greater in BCS (10 g/kg diet) or BCS oil (1 g/kg
diet) supplemented groups than the control groups, while carcass

TA B L E 5 Effects of black cumin seed supplementation on fatty acid [g (100 g)−1] composition of breast muscle at 42 days of age

Treatment p-­Value

CON vs. CON vs. AB vs.

Fatty acid CON AB LBC MBC HBC SEM AB BCSa BCS L Q

C14:0 0.43 0.55 0.48 0.51 0.425 0.048 .095 .48 .16 .88 .16
C14:1 0.086 0.025 0.13 0.14 0.21 0.035 .24 .093 .002 .015 .89
C16:0 21.7 23.2 22.6 21.8 20.5 0.735 .057 .94 .014 .043 .13
C16:1 3.01 2.79 2.16 1.71 1.73 0.350 .68 .011 .028 .021 .103
C17:0 0.17 0.049 0.10 0.21 0.21 0.037 .032 .94 .006 .17 .73
C18:0 9.23 9.34 9.69 9.91 10.0 0.454 .87 .25 .32 .26 .56
C18:1 cis (n-­9) 21.1 22.4 21.4 20.3 20.5 1.18 .45 .79 .22 .63 .87
C18:2n-­6 22.6 23.3 23.3 25.3 25.2 1.16 .71 .17 .32 .098 .45
C18:3n-­3 1.01 0.863 0.88 0.99 1.00 0.128 .42 .70 .54 .87 .67
C18:3n-­6 0.029 0.013 0 0.075 0.063 0.017 .52 .40 .095 .039 .68
C20:0 0.043 0.013 0 0.10 0.075 0.021 .33 .55 .068 .066 .56
C20:1 0.10 0.075 0.13 0.16 0.21 0.030 .58 .084 .014 .011 .92
C20:2 0.60 0.61 0.75 0.85 0.91 0.074 .91 .001 .001 .008 .23
C20:5 0.16 0.063 0.15 0.10 0.20 0.044 .15 .89 .097 .52 .22
C22:0 1.00 1.04 1.10 0.94 1.08 0.106 .81 .77 1.00 .81 .73
C20:3n-­3 5.31 5.21 6.05 6.23 6.38 0.657 .92 .27 .19 .31 .56
C23:0 2.29 1.04 1.79 1.19 1.83 0.654 .20 .39 .46 .64 .31
C24:1 1.50 1.54 1.75 1.80 1.78 0.194 .90 .25 .30 .39 .42
C22:6 0.40 0.35 0.48 0.55 0.58 0.080 .67 .18 .056 .13 .54
SFA 34.8 35.3 35.8 34.6 34.1 1.05 .79 1.00 .74 .46 .67
MUFA 25.5 24.1 25.4 24.1 24.4 1.17 .54 .44 .12 .36 .60
PUFA 30.1 30.4 31.6 34.1 34.3 0.88 .85 .005 .006 .001 .14

CON, control; AB, antibiotic; LBC, MBC and HBC, black cumin seeds (BCS) added with 5, 10, and 20 g/kg diet respectively; L, linear effect; Q, quadratic
effect; SEM, standard error of mean; SFA, saturated fatty acids; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids.
a
BCS values are the mean values of LBC, MBC and HBC.
8 |
yield, leg, breast and wing ratio were similar among the groups
(Tufan et al., 2015). In the study of Erener et al. (2010), dietary BCS
increased the carcass weight, but the dressing percentage, edible
organs and abdominal fat content were not influenced by dietary
inclusion of BCS and BCS extract. Saleh (2014) reported that breast
muscle weight was substantially increased, while liver weight was
unaffected by feeding BCS compared with the CON and AB groups.
The differences in the weight of different body parts between BCS
and the CON group were due to increased growth of broiler chick-
ens fed BCS diets (Kumar et al., 2017). Supplementation of BCS in-
creased feed intake and nutrient digestibility of CP, fat and starch
(Kumar et al., 2017; Saleh, 2014), which could result in increased
body weight gain of chickens (Al-­Beitawi & El-­Ghousein, 2008; Al-­
Homidan, Al-­Qarawi, Al-­Waily, & Adam, 2002). Supplementation of
BCS resulted in protein accretion (Kumar et al., 2017), which could
increase thigh and breast weight. High abdominal fat in broiler chick-
ens fed BCS diets might have resulted from high feed intake coupled
with greater digestibility of fat and starch (Kumar et al., 2017).
Results of our study did not agree with few other studies. For ex-
ample, dietary BCS did not affect most of the carcass characteristics
including dressing percentage, and weight of breast, thigh and drum-
stick (Al-­Beitawi & El-­Ghousein, 2008; Durrani et al., 2007). In study
of Jahan, Khairunnesa, Afrin, and Ali (2015), there was no significant
difference for the average body weight, dressing yield, thigh, wing,
heart, gizzard and liver weight. No significant effects of dietary BCS or
BCS extract were observed on the dressing percentage, edible inner
organs and abdominal fat in chickens in the study of Ismail (2011).
Moreover, Abbas and Ahmed (2010) reported that supplementation
of BCS at 10 g/kg in the diets of chickens decreased dressing per-
−1
centage compared with the chickens fed the CON or 20 g BCS kg
diet. Abaza, Shehata, Shoieb, and Hassan (2008) noted that adding
1 g BCS oil kg−1 diet of chickens decreased the per cent of abdominal
fat. Discrepancies in carcass traits among the studies may arise due to
insignificant effects of BCS on growth depending upon dose, dietary
nutrient concentrations and chicken rearing management conditions.
4.3 | Chemical composition of breast and
thigh muscle
Concentrations of DM, CP and EE in thigh and breast meat in-
creased due to supplementation of BCS compared with the CON
and AB (Table 3). There are only few studies to compare with
the findings of this study. High concentrations of DM and CP in
breast meat, but not in thigh meat, were noted when chickens
were fed a diet containing 15 g BCS kg−1 diet, whereas further
high concentrations of BCS in the diets did not influence the CP
and DM composition of chicken breast meat (Al-­B eitawi & El-­
Ghousein, 2008). Similar to this study, increased concentrations
of BCS (20 to 30 g BCS kg−1) also increased EE content in both
breast and thigh meat of chickens in the study of Al-­B eitawi and
El-­G housein (2008). High concentrations of CP and EE in breast
and thigh meat may be likely due to increased intake of digestible
CP and EE (Kumar et al., 2017). Feeding of BCS has been shown
KUMAR et al.
to increase feed intake and apparent total tract retention of nu-
trients in many studies (Durrani et al., 2007; Kumar et al., 2017).
In this regard, protein concentrations in diets modulate chemical
composition (DM, CP and EE) of meat in chickens (Bregendhal,
Sell, & Zimmerman, 2002; Gheorghe, Ciurescu, Ropota, Habeanu,
& Lefter, 2014). High protein supplementation (200 g/kg diet)
increased the concentration of CP (223 vs. 204 g/kg) in thigh
meat of chickens compared with the low protein (160 g/kg) diet
(Gheorghe et al., 2014). Supplementation of BCS or its EO com-
pounds may also affect the thyroid gland activity increasing the
concentration of blood thyroid hormone that is associated with
protein synthesis and energy metabolism in body (Hermes, Attia,
Ibrahim, & EL-­N esr, 2011). Slaughter BW of chickens was greater
in BCS supplemented groups in this study. The concentration of
DM, CP and EE of chicken meat depends on the slaughter BW
(Perreault & Lesson, 1992), which might also be accountable to the
differences in the chemical composition of meat.
4.4 | FRAP values in serum and meat
Supplementation of BCS resulted in the improved antioxidant activ-
ity of both the serum and meat (thigh and breast; Table 4). The litera-
ture showing antioxidant status in serum and meat of chickens due to
feeding of BCS and its EO is scarce. Antioxidant defence system and
lipid peroxidation in liver of chickens were enhanced by BCS (Sogut,
Celik, & Tuluce, 2008). Other EO such as oregano EO (0.1 g/kg feed)
containing antioxidant substances (thymol and carvacrol) exerted
antioxidative effects retarding lipid oxidation in thigh and breast
muscles of broiler chickens, and raw and cooked meat (Botsoglou
et al., 2002). Similarly, cinnamon EO and a mixture of thymol and
carvacrol (1:1) increased antioxidant enzyme activities (Ciftci et al.,
2010; Hashemipour et al., 2013). Improved antioxidant activity in
serum and meat in the present study might be due to the presence of
active constituents such as thymoquinone, carvacrol, anethole and
4-­terepinol in BCS, which have strong antioxidant properties (Sultan
et al., 2009). Methanolic extracts of BCS cake rich in phenolic com-
pounds such as syringic acid, hydroxybenzoic and p-­cumaric acids
showed significant antioxidant properties under in vitro system
(Mariod, Ibrahim, Ismail, & Ismail, 2009). The presence of other ac-
tive constituents in BCS might also have antioxidant activities in-
cluding selenium or vitamins A and E. Carotenoids and tocopherol
contents were 451 mg/kg oil, whereas thymoquinone content was
observed to be 201 mg/kg of BCS (Sultan et al., 2009). Ilhan, Gurel,
Armutcu, Kamisil, and Iraz (2005) observed the antioxidant effects
of BCS oil against pentylenetatrazol-­induced seizure kindled mice.
They postulated that the antioxidative properties are related to the
reduction in eicosanoid, thromboxane B2 and leukotriene B4 be-
cause of inhibition of cyclooxygenase and 5-­lipooxygenase.
4.5 | Peroxide values in meat
Lipid peroxidation is an autocatalytic mechanism leading to oxi-
dative destruction of cellular membranes (Cheeseman, 1993).
KUMAR et al.
Hydroperoxide is one of the major initial oxidation products that
decompose to form compounds responsible for off-­
flavours and
odours. Although antioxidant status of thigh and breast meat was
greater in BCS groups than in the CON, peroxide values in thigh and
breast meat were not affected by BCS on both days 1 and 7, which
might be due to higher EE concentrations in meat of the BCS groups
than in the CON group (Table 4). Total EE and PUFA concentrations
in meat are the important factors determining the peroxide values
(Jensen, Engberg, Jakobsen, Skibsted, & Bertelsen, 1997). After ac-
counting the EE concentration in meat which was greater in meat
obtained from BCS fed chickens (Table 4), breast meat in the BCS
groups tended to have lower peroxide values than the CON (Table 5).
Some studies showed that lipid peroxidation in tissues was attenu-
ated by the BCS supplementation which was attributed to the super-
oxide anion scavenger activity of BCS for its antioxidant property
(Tuluce, Ozkol, Sogut, & Celik, 2009). Sogut et al. (2008) suggested
that the BCS (30, 50 and 70 g BCS kg−1) decreased the hepatic liver
peroxidation and increased the activities of several enzymes such
as glutathione-­S-­transferase, catalase, myeloperoxidase and adeno-
sine deaminase, all of which resulted in decreased oxidative stress on
the liver. Tuluce et al. (2009) observed that diets added with 5 and
−1
10 g BCS kg resulted in decreased erythrocyte malondialdehyde
concentration, activity of lipid peroxidase and increased glutathione
concentration in chickens. Dietary supplementation of oregano EO
(0.1 g/kg feed) reduced lipid oxidation in thigh and breast muscles of
broiler chickens, and raw and cooked meat (Botsoglou et al., 2002).
Cinnamon oil and a mixture of thymol and carvacrol (1:1) also de-
creased lipid oxidation (Ciftci et al., 2010; Hashemipour et al., 2013).
The higher susceptibility of thigh meat towards oxidation is
explained by the higher absolute content of PUFA in this muscle
(Botsoglou et al., 2002; Jensen et al., 1997). Fat in breast meat con-
tains high percentage of PUFA, but total PUFA amount is higher in
thigh meat than in breast muscle, because the total fat concentra-
tion in thigh meat is approximately two and half times that in breast
(Jensen et al., 1997). Storage at 4°C increased the levels of peroxide
values in all samples, which agrees with other workers (Lopez-­Bote,
Gray, Gomaa, & Flegal, 1998).
4.6 | Fatty acid composition of meat
Improvements of nutritional qualities of meat by dietary interven-
tions especially using plant bioactive compounds and vegetable
oils have been attempted in different studies (Mandal, Roy et al.,
2014; Patra, 2014). Poultry meat has many desirable nutritional
characteristics such as low lipid content and relatively high con-
centrations of PUFA (Mandal, Ghosh, & Patra, 2014). Recently, the
importance of PUFA in diets has become more recognized due to
their beneficial effects on human health and nutrition (Mandal,
Ghosh, & Patra, 2014; Mandal, Roy et al., 2014). Fatty acid compo-
sition and antioxidant substances in diets are main factors that in-
fluence FA composition in the muscles of broiler chickens (Crespo
& Garcia, 2001; Ertas, Guler, Ciftci, Dalkilic, & Yılmaz, 2005). The
concentrations of PUFA and few unsaturated FA in meat were
| 9
increased due to feeding of BCS (Table 5), which could be ben-
eficial to human health. The rates of lipid synthesis or their oxida-
tion determine the fatty acid deposition in body (Crespo & Garcia,
2001). The PUFA are quickly prone to oxidative changes that are
attributed to quality deterioration of meat rich in PUFA during
long storage. Fortification of unsaturated FA in meat may cause
acceleration of FA oxidation in tissues. The antioxidant property
of BCS was supported in the present study and this could hinder
peroxidation of tissue lipids, especially PUFA.
There is no study that investigated the effects of BCS on FA com-
position in thigh and breast muscle. With other EO, concentrations
of total SFA were decreased, while concentrations of total unsatu-
rated FA and ω-­6 FA were increased in thigh meat by supplemen-
tation of cinnamon EO (Ciftci et al., 2010) and thymol + carvacrol
(Hashemipour et al., 2013) because of the hypolipidemic and anti-
oxidant properties of these EO in diets (Ciftci et al., 2010). However,
supplementation of thymol + carvacrol did not modify the FA com-
position in breast meat (Hashemipour et al., 2013). Ertas et al. (2005)
reported that the supplementation of Coriander sativum-­modified
carcass lipid composition of quails by lowering SFA proportions and
enhancing PUFA (particularly n-­3) contents.
5 | CO N C LU S I O N
Concentrations of DM, CP and EE in thigh and breast meat increased
with increasing concentrations of BCS in diets. Supplementations
of BCS in diets also increased antioxidant status in serum and meat
without influencing lipid peroxidation in meat. Feeding of increas-
ing concentrations of BCS to broiler chickens increased the concen-
trations of PUFA linearly and tended to increase the concentration
of C18:2cis linearly in breast meat. However, the concentrations of
C16:0, C16:1 and C23:0 decreased linearly with increased doses of
BCS in the diets. Taken together, the results suggest that the sup-
plementation of BCS at 10–20 g/kg diet may increase protein and fat
concentrations, antioxidant properties and beneficial FA concentra-
tions in chicken thigh and breast meat in broiler chickens.
C O N FL I C T O F I N T E R E S T
Authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
ORCID
A. K. Patra http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1410-0902
B. C. Debnath http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8335-4522
REFERENCES
Abaza, I. M., Shehata, M. A., Shoieb, M. S., & Hassan, I. I. (2008).
Evaluation of some natural feed additives in growing chick’s diets.
International Journal of Poultry Science, 7, 872–879. https://doi.
org/10.3923/ijps.2008.872.879
10 | KUMAR et al.
Abbas, T. E. E., & Ahmed, M. E. (2010). Effect of supplementation of
Nigella sativa seeds to the broiler chick’s diet on the performance and
carcass quality. International Journal of Agricultural Science, 2, 9–13.
Al-Beitawi, N., & El-Ghousein, S. S. (2008). Effect of feeding different levels
of Nigella sativa seeds (black cumin) on performance, blood constitu-
ents and carcass characteristics of broiler chicks. International Journal of
Poultry Science, 7, 715–721. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijps.2008.715.721
Al-Homidan, A., Al-Qarawi, A. A., Al-Waily, S. A., & Adam, S. E. I.
(2002). Response of broiler chicks to dietary Rhazya stricta and
Nigella sativa. British Poultry Science, 43, 291–296. https://doi.
org/10.1080/00071660120121526
AOAC (1990). Official methods of analytical chemists (18th ed.). Arlington,
VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists.
Benzie, I. F., & Strain, J. J. (1996). The ferric reducing ability of plasma
(FRAP) as a measure of antioxidant power: The FRAP assay. Analytical
Biochemistry, 239, 70–76. https://doi.org/10.1006/abio.1996.0292
Botsoglou, N. A., Christaki, E., & Fletouris, D. J. (2002). The effect of
dietary oregano essential oil on lipid oxidation in raw and cooked
chicken during refrigerated storage. Meat Science, 62, 259–265.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0309-1740(01)00256-X
Bregendhal, K., Sell, J. L., & Zimmerman, D. R. (2002). Effect of low protein
diets on growth performance and body composition of broiler chickens.
Poultry Science, 81, 1156–1167. https://doi.org/10.1093/ps/81.8.1156
Cheeseman, K. H. (1993). Mechanism and effects of lipid peroxi-
dation. Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 14, 191–197. https://doi.
org/10.1016/0098-2997(93)90005-X
Ciftci, M., Simsek, G. U., Yuce, A., Yilmaz, O., & Dalkilic, B. (2010). Effects
of dietary antibiotic and cinnamon oil supplementation on antioxi-
dant enzymes activities, cholesterol levels and fatty acid composi-
tions of serum and meat in broiler chickens. Acta Veterinaria Brno, 79,
33–40. https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079010033
Crespo, N., & Garcia, E. (2001). Dietary fatty acid profile modifies ab-
dominal fat deposition in broiler chickens. Poultry Science, 80, 71–78.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ps/80.1.71
Durrani, F. R., Chand, N., Zaka, K., Sultan, A., Khattak, F. M., & Durrani,
Z. (2007). Effect of different levels of feed added black seed (Nigella
sativa L.) on the performance of broiler chicks. Pakistan Journal of
Biological Science, 10, 4164–4167.
Erener, G., Altop, A., Oack, N., Aksoy, H. M., Cankaya, S., & Ozturk, E.
(2010). Influence of black cumin seed (Nigella sativa L.) and seed
extract on broilers performance and total coliform bacteria count.
Asian Journal Animal and Veterinary Advances, 5, 128–135. https://doi.
org/10.3923/ajava.2010.128.135
Ertas, O. N., Guler, T., Ciftci, M., Dalkilic, B., & Yılmaz, O. (2005). The
effect of a dietary supplement coriander seeds on the fatty acid
composition of breast muscle in Japanese quail. Revue de Medecine
Veterinarie, 156, 514–518.
Forouzanfar, F., Bazzaz, B. S. F., & Hosseinzadeh, H. (2014). Black cumin
(Nigella sativa) and its constituent (thymoquinone): A review on anti-
microbial effects. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Science, 17, 929–938.
Gharby, S., Harhar, H., Guillaume, D., Roudani, A., Boulbaroud, S., Ibrahimi,
M., & Charrouf, Z. (2015). Chemical investigation of Nigella sativa L.
seed oil produced in Morocco. Journal of Saudi Society of Agricultural
Science, 14, 172–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2013.12.001
Gheorghe, A., Ciurescu, G., Ropota, M., Habeanu, M., & Lefter, N. A.
(2014). Influence of dietary protein levels and protein-­oleaginous
sources on carcass parameters and fatty acid composition of broiler
meat. Archiva Zootechnica, 17, 41–53.
Guler, T., Dalkılıc, B., Ertas, O. N., & Ciftci, M. (2006). The effect of di-
etary black cumin seeds (Nigella sativa L.) on the performance of
broilers. Asian-­Australasian Journal of Animal Science, 19, 425–430.
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2006.425
Hashemipour, H., Kermanshahi, H., Golian, A., & Veldkamp, T. (2013). Effect
of thymol and carvacrol feed supplementation on performance, anti-
oxidant enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, digestive enzyme
activities, and immune response in broiler chickens. Poultry Science, 92,
2059–2069. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2012-02685
Hermes, I. H., Attia, F. M., Ibrahim, K. A., & EL-Nesr, S. S. (2011).
Physiological responses of broiler chickens to dietary different forms
and levels of Nigella sativa L., during Egyptian summer season. Journal
of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 4, 17–33.
Ilhan, A., Gurel, A., Armutcu, F., Kamisil, S., & Iraz, M. (2005).
Antiepileptogenic and antioxidant effects of Nigella sativa oil against
pentylenetetrazol-­ induced killing in mice. Neuropharmacology, 49,
456–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2005.04.004
Ismail, Z. S. H. (2011). Effects of dietary black cumin growth seeds (Nigella
sativa L.) or its extract on performance and total coliform bacteria
count on broiler chicks. Egyptian Poultry Science, 31, 139–149.
Jahan, M. S., Khairunnesa, M., Afrin, S., & Ali, M. S. (2015). Dietary black
cumin (Nigella sativa) seed meal on growth and meat yield perfor-
mance of broilers. SAARC Journal of Agriculture, 13, 151–160.
Jensen, C., Engberg, R., Jakobsen, K., Skibsted, L. H., & Bertelsen, G. (1997).
Influence of the oxidative quality of dietary oil on broiler meat stor-
age stability. Meat Science, 47, 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/
S0309-1740(97)00052-1
Koniecko, E. S. (1979). Handbook for meat chemist. Wayne, NJ: Avery
Publishing Group Inc..
Kumar, P., & Patra, A. K. (2017). Beneficial uses of black cumin (Nigella
sativa L.) seeds as a feed additive in poultry nutrition. World’s
Poultry Science Journal, 73, 872–885. https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0043933917000848
Kumar, P., Patra, A. K., Mandal, G. P., Samanta, I., & Pradhan, S. (2017). Effect
of black cumin seeds on growth performance, nutrient utilization, im-
munity, and gut health in broiler chickens. Journal of the Science of Food
and Agriculture, 97, 3742–3751. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.8237
Lopez-Bote, C. J., Gray, J. I., Gomaa, E. A., & Flegal, C. J. (1998). Effect of
dietary administration of oil extracts from rosemary and sage on lipid
oxidation in broiler meat. British Poultry Science, 39, 235–240. https://
doi.org/10.1080/00071669889187
Mandal, G. P., Ghosh, T. K., & Patra, A. K. (2014). Effect of different dietary
n-­6 to n-­3 fatty acid ratios on the performance and fatty acid composi-
tion in muscles of broiler chickens. Asian-­Australasian Journal of Animal
Science, 27, 1608–1614. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2014.14013
Mandal, G. P., Roy, A., & Patra, A. K. (2014). Effects of feeding plant addi-
tives rich in saponins and essential oils on the performance, carcass
traits and conjugated linoleic acid concentrations in muscle and adi-
pose tissues of Black Bengal goats. Animal Feed Science and Technology,
197, 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2014.08.008
Mariod, A. A., Ibrahim, R. M., Ismail, M., & Ismail, N. (2009). Antioxidant
activity and phenolic content of phenolic rich fractions obtained
from cumin (Nigella sativa) seed cake. Food Chemistry, 116, 306–312.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.02.051
Pathak, M., Mandal, G. P., Patra, A. K., Samanta, I., Pradhan, S., & Haldar,
S. (2017). Effects of dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde
and formic acid on growth performance, intestinal microbiota and
immune response in broiler chickens. Animal Production Science, 57,
821–827. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15816
Patra, A. K. (2014). Exploring the benefits of feeding tannin containing
diets for enhancing the nutritional values of milk and meat of rumi-
nants. Indian Journal of Animal Health, 53, 63–76.
Perreault, N., & Lesson, S. (1992). Age-­ related carcass composition
changes in male broiler chickens. Canadian Journal of Animal Science,
72, 919–929. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjas92-104
Saleh, A. A. (2014). Nigella seed oil as alternative to avilamycin antibiotic
in broiler chicken diets. South African Journal of Animal Science, 44,
254–261. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajas.v44i3.7
Sogut, B., Celik, I., & Tuluce, Y. (2008). The effects of diet supplemented
with black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) upon immune potential and antiox-
idant marker enzymes and lipid peroxidation in broiler chicks. Journal
of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 7, 1196–1199.
KUMAR et al. | 11

Sultan, M. T., Butt, M. S., Anjum, F. M., Jamil, A., Akhtar, S., & Nasir, S U P P O R T I N G I N FO R M AT I O N
M. (2009). Nutritional profile of indigenous cultivar of black cumin
seeds and antioxidant potential of its fixed and essential oil. Pakistan Additional Supporting Information may be found online in the
Journal of Botany, 41, 1321–1330. ­supporting information tab for this article.
Tufan, T., Arslan, C., Sari, M., & Kaplan, O. (2015). Japon Bıldırcınlarının
Rasyonlarına Çörek Otu (Nigella sativa L.) Tohumu veya Çörek Otu Yağı
İlavesinin Besi Performansı, Karkas Özellikleri ve Bazı Kan Parametrelerine
How to cite this article: Kumar P, Patra AK, Mandal GP,
Etkisi. Kafkas Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi, 21, 593–599.
Tuluce, Y. H., Ozkol, B., Sogut, I., & Celik, K. (2009). Effects of Nigella sativa Debnath BC. Carcass characteristics, chemical and fatty acid
on lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione levels in erythrocytes of composition and oxidative stability of meat from broiler
broiler chickens. Cell Membranes and Free Radical Research, 1, 1–3. chickens fed black cumin (Nigella sativa) seeds. J Anim Physiol
Windisch, W., Schedle, K., Plitzner, C., & Kroismayr, A. (2008). Use of phyto-
Anim Nutr. 2018;00:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.12880
genic products as feed additives for swine and poultry. Journal of Animal
Science, 86(Suppl.), E140–E148. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2007-0459