Effects of dietary hops (Humulus lupulus) supplementation on growth performance, serum lipid profile and selected hepatic enzymes of Japanese quails

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of hops (Humuluslupulus) as a dietary supplement on weight gain, serum lipid profiles and selected hepatic enzymes of Japanese quails through a 6-weeks randomized clinical trial.Materials Methods: Total one day old Japanese quails (n = 200) were divided into 5 treatment groups, receiving 224, 450, 680, 907 and 1134 g of dry powdered hops leavesper one ton of feed, respectively, while the control group received a ration free of hops for 41 days. Blood samples were taken for clinical chemistry on day 42.Results Conclusion: Total serum cholesterol, triacylglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels showed no significant differences among studied groups. Hepatic enzymes like glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) also did not reveal any significant differences in studied groups. The addition of hops at 224, 450, 680 g per ton feed resulted in significant (respectively P = 0.007, P = 0.031 and P = 0.034) improvements in weight gaincompared to the control group during therearing period. Higher levels of hops feeding also resulted in some improvements as compared to the control group but the results are not significant. Results of this study suggest that inclusion of hops into diets at the rate of 450 g per ton for Japanese quails may result in improved weight gain without any adverse effects on hepatic function and serum lipid profile.