title: The effects of high-fat diets composed of different animal and vegetable fat sources on the health status and tissue lipid profiles of male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to investigate the impact of high-fat diets composed of different animal and vegetable fat sources on serum metabolic health markers in Japanese quail, as well as the overall lipid content and fatty acid profiles of the edible bird tissues following significantly increased dietary lipid supplementation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty seven male quail were divided into six groups and fed either a standard diet or a diet enriched with one of five different fats (22% coconut oil, lard, palm oil, soybean oil, or sunflower oil) for 12 weeks. The birds were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test following the feeding period, after which they were euthanized and blood, liver, breast, and thigh muscle samples collected. Total fat content and fatty acid profiles of the tissue samples, as well as serum uric acid, triglyceride, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, aspartate transaminase, and total bilirubin concentrations were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High-fat diet feeding had no significant effects on the glucose tolerance of the birds. Dietary fatty acid profiles of the added fats were reflected in the lipid profiles of both the liver and breast and thigh muscle tissues, indicating successful transfer of dietary fatty acids to the edible bird tissues. The significantly increased level of lipid inclusion in the diets of the quail used in the present study was unsuccessful in increasing the overall lipid content of the edible bird tissues. Serum metabolic health markers in birds on the high-fat diets were not significantly different from those observed in birds on the standard diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, despite the various high-fat diets modifying the fatty acid profile of the birds' tissues, unlike in most mammals, the birds maintained a normal health status following consumption of the various high-fat diets.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donaldson
authors.affiliation: School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Michael Taurai
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Madziva
authors.affiliation: School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Kennedy Honey
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Erlwanger
keywords: High-fat Diets; Japanese Quail; Metabolic Health Markers; Tissue Fatty Acid Profile