Effects of probiotic (live and inactive Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on meat and intestinal microbial properties of Japonica quail

The present work evaluated the effect of probiotics (live and inactive Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on the meat and intestinal microbial properties of Japonica quail. Twenty-four one-day old Japonica quail were obtained from a commercial hatchery. The birds were randomly divided into 2 groups. The dietary treatments given to the birds included basal diet (control) and basal diet plus 0.1% live S. cerevisiae and 0.05% inactive S. cerevisiae. The Japonica quail were fed with the diets from days 1 to 72. At the end of the experiment, 12 Japonica quail per experimental group were slaughtered, and meat and intestinal samples were taken. The collected meat and intestinal samples, kept at 4°C, were transported to the laboratory of food hygiene in Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch. In this study, the detection of bacterial total count, Lactobacilli, Coliforms, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. was done thoroughly. Based on the results of the study, the probiotics, live and inactive S. cerevisiae, caused a significant reduction of the traits of total bacterial count (p=0.007), Streptococcus sp. (p=0.046), Coliform (p=0.041), and Lactobacillus (p=0.032) in the intestines of the birds; only a little significant reduction (p=0.01) of the trait of total bacterial count was observed in the meat. The present study has provided evidence that the supplementation of probiotics in the diet of Japonica quail significantly reduced intestinal microbial flora. Thus, it may be concluded that probiotics help in reducing the microbial properties of the meat and intestines of Japonica quail.   Key words: Probiotic, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, microbial properties, Japonica quail.