U. Kalsum, H. Soetanto, Achmanu, O. Sjofjan
The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of Lactobacillus fermentum, isolated from the intestine of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica), as a probiotic product. The influence of this probiotics preparation on the laying performance and egg quality of quails was evaluated in a 28-day experiment. A fully randomized design was used with four experimental treatments, namely standard feed, standard feed with antibiotic, standard feed with 5.27 × 108 cells/ml L. fermentum and standard feed with 2.35 × 109 cells/ml L. fermentum. The results showed that L. fermentum supplementation did not influence (p>0.05) egg quality parameters (haugh unit, % egg albumen, % egg yolk and egg shell thickness) and egg weight, but significantly improved (p<0.05) total egg production and lowered cholesterol content in egg yolk. In conclusion, L. fermentum may be used as a feed additive in Japanese quail diets to improve egg production and to lower egg cholesterol content. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2012.
Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Islamic University of Malang, Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
