Effect of maca powder supplementation to growing

quail diets on performance, carcass, serum

Research Article

Keywords: Bone, Hormone, Ileum, Maca powder, Performance, Quail

Posted Date: March 25th, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1470494/v1

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Abstract
This study research was carried out to determine the effects of the supplementation of maca powder at
different levels to the diet on performance, carcass characteristics, serum biochemical constituents and
hormone concentrations, bone biomechanical properties and ileum histomorphology in Japanese
growing quails. In the study, a total of 480 day-old and mixed sex Japanese quail chicks were randomly
distributed to six treatment groups with four subgroups. Experimental diets were formulated by adding
0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 g/kg maca powder to the basal diet. At the end of the experiment, the body
weight and body weight gain increased linearly with the addition of maca powder up to 1.0 g/kg to the
diet, feed conversion ratio was also linearly affected and improved significantly at 1.5 g/kg compared to
other groups. While the treatments did not affect the slaughtering parameters except for testis weight,
testis weight improved linearly with addition of increased levels of maca powder. In female quails,
albumin level of the serum decreased linearly with the addition of maca powder to the diet, while in
males, triglyceride and cholesterol levels decreased linearly, and albumin, calcium, phosphorus levels
were also affected quadratically.While serum hormone concentrations were not affected by the
treatments in females, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising-hormone were quadratically affected
in male quails, and testosterone concentrated linearly with increased levels of maca, and also reached the
highest value at 2.5 g/kg. Shear force and shear stress were positively affected by the addition of maca
powder up to 1.0 g/kg to the diet, while negatively affected by higher maca powder levels. Villus height,
villus width, crypth depth, and villus surface area increased linearly with the administration of maca
powder at increased levels to the diet, and the best result was obtained at the level of 2.0 g/kg in these
parameters. According to the results obtained from the present research, it can be said that the addition
up to 2.0 g/kg maca powder to growing quail diets could be improve performance, serum hormone
concentrations, bone biomechanical traits, and ileum parameters.

1. Introduction
Maca (Lepidium peruvianum), known as Peruvian hypocotyls (Zheng et al., 2000), is grown at an altitude
of 3,700-4,500 in the Andes Mountains in central Peru (Dini et al., 1994), since approximately the 16th
century (Leon, 1964) and it is used in the medicine for humans and animals (Lentz et al., 2006; Clement
et al., 2012). This biennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family (Toledo et al., 1998)
could be adapted greatly to different environmental conditions (Zhang et al., 2016). In the results
obtained from various studies, it was declared that the moisture, protein, crude oil, total carbohydrate, and
ash content (percentage of dry matter) of maca root differ between 4.63–10.40%, 9.56–21.90%, 0.59–
2.20%, 46.1–74.8%, and 3.41–4.9%, respectively (Dini et al., 1994; Li et al., 2017a; Li et al., 2017b; Li et al.,
2017c). maca root also contains secondary metabolites such as glucosinolates, phenylpropanoids
(polyphenols), isoprenoids (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes), and alkoloids (Dini et al., 2002; Sandoval
et al., 2002; Gonzales et al., 2012). However, the feature that distinguishes maca from plants belonging to
the same family, such as turnip, radish, and cabbage, its unique compounds, macaene and macamides
(Muhammad et al., 2002; Mc Collom et al., 2005; Zhao et al., 2005). A study examining the effects of

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maca on growing quails was found in the literature, and as a result, it was stated that some performance
parameters were affected, while carcass parameters were not affected from treatments (Turgud and
Narinç, 2022). Also, Korkmaz et al. (2016) demonstrated that the evaluated parameters were not affected
by the addition of maca powder to the diet in laying hens. Therewithal, in some studies conducted in rats,
it was clarified that maca improved feed efficiency (Wan et al., 2018), advanced fertility and sexual
functions without changing hormone levels (Gonzales et al., 2005), also increased the level of luteinising
and follicle-stimulating hormones (Uchiyama et al., 2014) without affecting the oestrus cycle (Gasco et
al., 2008), increased bone density (Meissner et al., 2006a), and it had effects of protective activity against
bone resorption (Zhang et al., 2006; Gonzales et al., 2010) and balancing effect on hormone (Wang et al.,
2009; Meissner et al., 2006a) and lipid (Barraza et al., 2015) levels.

Based on this information, the hypothesis of the current research that was maca powder would have a
positive effect on performance, reproductive organs, and hormones by improving the digestive system
and bone development in growing quails. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the effects of
maca powder added at different levels to growing quail diets on performance, carcass, serum
biochemical parameters and hormone concentrations, bone traits and ileum histomorphology.

2. Material And Methods

In the experiment that carried out to randomized arrangement design with six trial groups, each
consisting of four subgroups, a total of 480 1-day-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly allocated to
groups. The basal diet was prepared as isocaloric and isonitrogenic according to the NRC (1994)
recommendation for growing quail (Table 1). Experimental diets were formed by adding 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5,
2.0, and 2.5 g/kg of maca powder obtained from a commercial company to the basal diet. The chicks
were raised in cages in environmentally controlled house. During the trial, ahemeral lighting (23
hours/day) was applied, water and feed were given ad-libitum.

2.2. Determination of performance parameters

During the experiment, body weight and feed intake were determined as g/chick by group weighings with
1 g precision scales at the beginning, middle (3rd weeks) and final (6th weeks) of the trial. Body weight
gain was also found from these measurements. Feed conversion ratio was calculated as g feed/g gain
with feed intake / body weight gain formula.

2.3. Determination of carcass traits

At the end of the experiment, two quails at six weeks of age, one male and one female from each
subgroup, were euthanized by cervical dislocation from six-week-old quails. Carcass, liver, heart,
pancreas, ovaries, and testis were weighed with a 0.01 g precision scale, and then their relative weights
were determined. Relative weights of carcass and some organs were calculated as percentage of body

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weight. After datawere obtained for slaughtering parameters, bone and ileum samples were taken for
biomechanical and histological analysis.

2.4. Determination of serum parameters

Final of the trial, for determine the serum parameters, 3 ml of blood was randomly taken from two quails
(a total of 48) of similar live weight from each subgroup. Serum were obtained by centrifuging the blood
at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes. The serum were stored at -20 °C until analysis, and serum glucose, triglyceride,
cholesterol, HDL, total protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, calcium, and phosphorus levels, and follicle-
stimulating hormone, luteinising-hormone, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone concentrations were
determined in an auto-analyzer device using commercial kits in a private laboratory.

2.5. Determination of bone biomechanical properties 

Before the measurements, the tibiae were kept for 6 hours at room temperature and in an air-controlled
place. Tibia mechanical properties were determined with a load-deformation curve (ASAE, 2001) using
Instron Universal Testing Instrument (Model 1122; Instron, Canton, MA) and Test Works 4 software
package (version 4.02; MTS System Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN). Cross-head speed was fixed at 5
mm/min. The full-scale load of the load cell was 5.000 N. Shear tests on the tibia were performed using a
double shear block apparatus. The shear force was applied on a 6.35 mm (0.25 inch) section located in
the center of the diaphysis. These tests ensured evaluation of the ultimate shear force and shear stress
for each bone. The mean cortex thickness of the fractured tibia, used to determine mechanical properties,
was measured using digital callipers (0.001 mm precision) at two points on the central axis of the tibia.
The determination of these mechanical properties of bone was regulated from Wilson and Ruszler (1996)
and Armstrong et al. (2002).

2.6. Determination of ileum histomorphological parameters

The samples taken for ileum histomorphological measurements were immediately buffered in 10%
formalin and kept in this solution for 72 hours. After trimming process, the intact crypt-villus units of each
sample were divided into three cross-sectional areas. Preparation and fixation for measurements of villus
and crypts were carried out according to the protocol demonstrated by Xu et al. (2003). Villus height was
taken from the crypt-villus junction to the tip brush border. In order to obtain accurate results, villus width
was measured from the midpoint of the villus between the brush borders of the opposing epithelial cells,
as far as possible. The crypt depth was taken at the level of the membranes of the crypt epithelial cells.
Villus surface area was calculated with the formula (2π) × (villus width / 2) × (villus height) according to
Sakamoto et al. (2000).

2.7. Statistical analysis

Data were analysed in the SPSS 18.0 software package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) with model of one-
way ANOVA, using the group mean as an experimental unit. A probability value of P < 0.05 was
considered statistically significant. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to evaluate the
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significance of linear and quadratic models to determine the response of the dependent variable to an
increasing maca powder level.

3. Results
3.1. Performance parameters

The performance parameters such as body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion
ratio obtained from the current research examining the effects of maca powder added to the growing
quail diets were demonstrated in Table 2. While the addition of maca powder to the growing quail diets
did not affect statistically the feed intake (P > 0.05), it affected the body weight (P < 0.01), body weight
gain (P < 0.01), and feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05), linearly. The highest body weight (6th week) and
body weight gain (3rd and 6th weeks) were obtained with the addition of 1.0 g/kg of maca powder to the
growing quail diets, a decrease in these parameters was observed in these groups with further levels of
maca powder compared to the control group, and it was minimum at the supplementation of 2.0 g/kg of
maca powder. As of the final of research (0-6 weeks), the highest feed efficiency was observed in the
group fed with diet added 1.5 g/kg of maca powder. In addition, it was seen that the administration of
maca powder to diet cumulatively affected the body weight and feed conversion ratio of quails.

3.2. Relative weights of carcass and some organs 

The results of the effects of maca powder added to the diet on carcass, liver, heart, pancreas, ovary, and
testis weights of quails were given in Table 3. The effect of maca powder supplemented at different
levels to growing quail diets on carcass, liver, heart, pancreas, and ovaries relative weights did not
significant, statistically (P > 0.05). The only parameter affected by the treatments was testis weight, it
increased linearly up to 2.0 g/kg and also a decrease was observed in this enhancement with highest
maca powder level (2.5 g/kg) (P < 0.01).

3.3. Serum biochemical constituents

In the Table 4 was shown the effects of addition of maca powder to the diet at different levels on selected
serum biochemical parameters of growing female and male quails.

Serum glucose, total protein, globulin, creatinine, calcium, and phosphorus levels in female quail were not
affected by the addition of maca powder to diet (P > 0.05). Serum albumin level decreased linearly with
the supplementation of maca powder in females (P=0.05). Treatments did not affect statistically serum
glucose, total protein, globulin, and creatinine levels of male quails (P > 0.05). Serum triglyceride levels of
male ones increased linearly up to the level of 1.0 g/kg of maca powder, while it declined at the further
levels (P < 0.01). Serum cholesterol level of male quails was diminished linearly with the supplementation
of maca powder to diet, and it was minimum with the highest maca powder (P < 0.01). In addition to,
administration of maca powder to growing quail diets quadratically affected the serum albumin
concentration in male quails (P < 0.05). When the maca powder was added to the diet up to 1.5 g/kg, the

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serum albumin level ascended, but it decreased at 2.0 and 2.5 g/kg. Addition of the maca powder to the
diet, serum calcium (P < 0.01) and phosphorus (P < 0.05) levels affected quadratically in male quails, and
the serum levels of both minerals were increased by the supplementation of maca powder.

3.4. Serum hormone concentrations

The effects of maca powder addition at different levels to quail diets on follicle-stimulating hormone,
luteinising hormone, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone in female and male quails were
demonstrated in Table 5. maca powder did not found statistically significant effect on serum hormone
levels in female quails (P > 0.05). However, the supplementation of maca powder to the diet did not affect
the serum estradiol level (P > 0.05) of male quails but affected the serum follicle-stimulating hormone (P
< 0.01), luteinising hormone (P < 0.05) levels quadratically, and serum testosterone concentration (P <
0.01) linearly. 

In male quails, the serum follicle-stimulating hormone level descended quadratically with the addition of
maca powder to the diet. Luteinising hormone, on the other hand, decreased quadratically with the use of
maca powder up to 2.0 g/kg in the diet, but increased with the addition of high level (2.5 g/kg) maca
powder. Also, serum testosterone level of male quails concentrated linearly with increasing maca powder
levels in the diet.

3.5. Bone biomechanical properties 

The effect of administration of maca powder to growing quail diets on tibia cortex thickness, cortex
cross-sectional area, shear force, and shear stress was given in Table 6. 

According to the results obtained from the study, tibia cortex thickness and cortex cross-sectional area of
quails were not statistically affected by the addition of maca powder to the diet (P > 0.05). Tibia shear
force decreased linearly with the addition of maca powder to the diet, and it was minimum at 2.5 g/kg
maca powder level (P < 0.01). The shear stress of tibia was linearly affected by the dietary maca powder
levels and augmented with the addition of up to 1.0 g/kg to the diet, but it decreased at the further levels,
and also it was minimum at the highest (2.5 g/kg) maca powder level (P < 0.01).

3.6. Ileum histomorphological parameters

The effect of supplementation of maca powder to growing quail diets on ileum villus width, villus height,
crypt depth, and villus surface area properties was shown in Table 7.

When the results in the table were examined, it was seen that the administration of maca powder to the
diet increased the villus width, villus height, crypt depth, and villus surface area parameters of the ileum,
linearly (P < 0.001). It was sufficient of 1.5 g/kg level of maca powder for the highest villus width, on the
other hand, 2.0 g/kg level was enough for the highest villus height, crypt depth, and villus surface area.
However, the supplementation of high levels (2.5 g/kg) of maca powder to the diet restrained the progress

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of ileum development. Therefore, it is seen that the addition of 2.0 g/kg of maca powder to the diet was
sufficient for a satisfactory ileum development in growing quails.

4. Discussion
4.1. Performance parameters

Performance parameters are indicators of physiological processes and metabolic incidents in animals. In
the current study examining the effects of different levels of maca powder added to growing quail diets,
treatments considerably affected performance parameters, excluding feed intake. In research conducted
on growing quails, contrary to the current results, it was reported that body weight and feed efficiency
were not affected in quails fed with diets containing of 0.05 and 0.1% maca powder, but feed intake
increased at both levels compared to the control group (Turgud and Narinç, 2022). At the same time,
Korkmaz et al. (2016) stated that the mentioned performance parameters did not significantly affect by
maca powder added to the diet at different levels (5 and 10 g/kg) in laying hens. Although not conducted
on poultry in the literature, there are some other studies examining the effects of maca powder on
different animal species. In one of these researches, Uchiyama et al. (2014) expressed that feed intake
and body weight change were not affected by the treatments in rats fed with diets supplemented with 50,
250, and 500 g/kg maca powder. Even though these results were similar to the current study in terms of
feed intake, it was disagreed with body weight gain. Furthermore, Zhang et al. (2006) who carried out a
trial in ovariectomized rats stated that maca ethanol extract used at the level of 0.096 and 0.24 g/kg did
not significantly affect body weight. In another study, Wan et al. (2018) who evaluated the effects of
different levels (300, 600, or 1200 mg/kg) maca aqueous extract on hamsters fed with high levels of
fructose concluded that the body weight gain was considerably decreased with 1200 mg/kg, body weight
in final of trial descended, and feed efficiency improved with 300 and 1200 mg/kg levels. Additionally, on
the other hand, Meissner et al. (2006b) clarified that 0.75 or 7.5 g gelatinized maca per kg body weight in
rats decreased body weight in males on the contrary maca levels did not have a significant effect on this
parameter in females. Besides, Wang et al. (2009) supplemented three different levels (0.3, 0.6 ve 1.8
g/kg) of maca powder in the diet and noted that the use of high level (1.8 g/kg) of maca reduced body
weight gain, as a result of the experiment. The results of the studies given above disagree with the current
research results. As Beharry and Henrich (2018) declared, the effects of maca powder or extract depend
on parameters such as animal species, physiological biomarker, and experimental period, that is to say
the susceptibility of the selected trial model systems. With this, performance parameters could differ from
the species of animal, breed, age, physiological period, environmental conditions, and raw materials used
in the diets. For this reason, the mentioned factors should be taken into consideration when evaluating
these parameters, extraly.

4.2. Relative weights of carcass and organs

Current study that evaluated the effects of maca powder addition to the growing quail diets, carcass, liver,
heart, pancreas, and ovary weights were not considerably affected by the treatments, while testis weight

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increased linearly. The results obtained by Turgud and Narinç (2022), who examined the effects of maca
powder added at 0.05 or 0.1% levels to the growing quail diets, were similar to the present study in terms
of carcass yield. In another research conducted on the issue, Gonzales et al. (2001b) stated that the
aqueous extract of maca, used twice a day at the level of 66.7 mg/mL, ascended testis weight in rats.
Most studies in the literature examined the effects of maca on parameters such as sperm production
(Gonzales et al., 2006), sperm quality (Melnikovova et al., 2015), ejaculation number (Zhang et al., 2016),
sexual activity (Avelar et al., 2016) rather than testis weight, and Latif et al. (2008) noted that that the low
testis weight is also a marker of a possible change in the androgen status of the individual. While the
same researchers expressed the importance of the pituitary in maintaining testis size and weight, referred
to Corbier et al. (1978), who stated that there was a strong correlation between serum gonadotropins and
testis weight. The linear escalate in luteinising hormone, which is effective in testosterone secretion, with
increasing maca levels in the current experiment could be associated with an enlarge in testis weight.
Therewithal, the mechanisms by which maca could affect the male or female reproductive system
expected to be clarified. Its effect on the reproductive system was primarily attributed to the lipid fraction
of the plant containing fatty acids and macamides (Zheng et al., 2000; Hudson, 2008). macamides and
macaenes, represented long chain saturated fatty acids and poly unsaturated fatty acid groups are
secondary metabolites in the plant and their amides are typical for this plant (Zheng et al., 2000). Another
hypothesis is that this effect can be due to the influence of potentially active compounds such as
alkaloids, isothiocyanates and glucosinolates (Ruiz-Luna et al., 2005). One of these active compounds,
indoly-3-methyl (glucobrassicin), a glucosinolate, could modulate androgenic activity as it can
enzymatically hydrolyse 3,3-diindolylmethane, which is known as a specific antagonist of the androgen
receptor (Chang et al., 1999; Le et al., 2003).

4.3. Serum biochemical constituents

In the current study, among the serum biochemical parameters, albumin was only affected by treatments
and decreased linearly, in female quails. Male ones, on the other hand, triglyceride and cholesterol
concentrations decreased linearly, and albumin, calcium, and phosphorus levels were affected
quadratically by the treatments. There are some research results conducted on the issue in the literature.
In one of these studies, contrary to the current trial, Canales et al. (2000) expressed that the addition of
maca to the diet in mice increased the level of total serum proteins and albumin. However, in the
aforementioned research, the use of maca at the level of 30% in the diet and as cooked is an issue that
should be considered when comparing these two studies. Wan et al. (2018) stated that the
supplementation of 300, 600, or 1200 mg/kg aqueous maca extract to the diet of male hamsters given
high levels of fructose decreased cholesterol at all levels, while triglyceride concentration increased at all
levels except for 300 mg/kg. These results agree with the current study in terms of cholesterol but
disagree with regard to triglycerides. In another study, it was reported that blood glucose and plasma and
liver cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased when 10 g/kg of maca powder was added to the diets
of rats and mice with hereditary hyper-triglyceridemia fed with diet containing high levels of sucrose. At
the end of the experiment, the researchers noted that maca could be used in the prevention and treatment
of chronic diseases (Vecera et al., 2007). With this, contrary to the present results, some other studies
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demonstrated that the administration of maca powder to the diet of rats did not affect cholesterol and
triglyceride concentrations (Meissner et al., 2006b) and calcium and phosphorus levels (Zhang et al.,
2006). In the present study, it was observed that the serum calcium level increased quadratically in male
quails. However, research did not find about this issue in the literature. It is already known that maca is
rich in calcium (Peres et al., 2020). On the other hand, the reason for the increase in the serum level of
calcium in male ones draw attention. In this regard, Hope et al. (1992) declared that intestinal calcium
transport was suppressed by estrogen before sexual development was completed in female rats and the
reason why this effect did not observe in males could be due to the fact that males are less sensitive to
estrogen. Researchers also reported that gonadal status was directly proportional to duodenal calcium
transport in males in which sexual development did not yet complete. Although quality, number, and
motility of sperm were not evaluated in the current study, it can be said that high testosterone
concentrations could support the above argument.

4.4. Serum hormone concentrations

In this study examined the effects of maca powder addition to growing quail diets, treatments did not
significantly affect serum hormone concentrations in female quails, but all parameters were affected in
males, except for estradiol. It effects on decreasing follicle-stimulating hormone and increasing
luteinising hormone was quadratic, and also testosterone concentrated linearly. Among the pituitary
hormones were affected from maca powder addition to diet in current experiment, follicle-stimulating
hormone activate sperm production, luteinising hormone stimulate testosterone secretion and sperm
maturation. Testosterone is also an important hormone in the formation of masculine characteristics in
males, in addition to sperm production. Some data in the literature showed that the use of additives for
sexual activity did not affect considerably the males with normal serum testosterone levels (Gonzales et
al., 2003). However, the reason for the linear rise in serum testosterone concentration with increasing
maca powder levels in this trial can be related to the irregularity of hormones since quails were in the
sexual maturity stage. In fact that, previous researches were also claimed that the effects of maca on
fertility and sexual activity can be modulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis through regulation of
hormone secretion, but studies in both humans and animals presented that treatment with maca did not
affect serum reproductive hormone levels (Gonzales et al., 2002). Another hypothesis, on the other hand,
is that maca can contain testosterone-like compounds (Gonzales et al., 2003). Another reason could be
the enzymatic digestion of the androgen receptor antagonist called 3,3-diindolylmethane, mentioned in
the previous parts, by a glucosinolate (Chang et al., 1999; Le et al., 2003). Finally, the plant-specific
macaenes and macamides, again also discussed in the previous parts, can be basis of this effect (Zheng
et al., 2000; Hudson, 2008).

In one of the researches conducted in the literature on the isssue, De la Cruz ve Arroyo (2012) stated that
the testosterone level increased in mice fed with diets added 2 g maca per kg body weight. In another
study were used as animal material of mice, it was noted that 5 g/100 mL of maca extract supplemented
to drinking water increased the blood testosterone level in males and this increase was due to the
synergistic effect of the saponin, arginine, lead, and vitamin E contained in maca (Oshima et al.,
Page 9/22
2003). Contrary to the current study, in studies conducted in men, it was stated that the gelatinized form
containing 1.75 g daily (Melnikovova et al., 2015) and 1.5 or 3 g/day maca powder (Gonzales et al.,
2003) did not affect the serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinising hormone, and testosterone
level. Gonzales et al. (2001a) also identified that maca at 1500 or 3000 mg/day level increased sperm
count and motility in each ejaculation without affecting these hormones in men. A research carried out
stallions demonstrated that the 4 g/100 kg body weight of maca did not affect serum testosterone
levels (Del Prete et al., 2018).

4.5. Bone biomechanical properties

In this trial, cortex thickness and cortex cross-sectional area were not affected statistically by the
supplementation of maca powder to the diet, but shear force and shear stress decreased linearly. Bone is
a dynamic tissue that is affected by physiological factors, nutrition, and physical conditions such as
mechanical stress and physical activity. Regarding the effect of hormones on bone, Rath et al. (1996)
explained that the enlarged testosterone concentration increased bone breaking strength. In the literature,
only one research was found that these parameters examined. Zhang et al. (2006) stated that the
administration of 0.096 and 0.24 mg/kg maca ethanol extract to the diets of ovariectomized rats did not
significantly affect the femoral shear force and shear stress parameters. Other results obtained from the
study, which did not use maca powder, demonstrated that the use of low levels of oil mixture obtained
from aromatic plant extracts advanced tibia shear force and shear stress, but as the level increased, bone
biomechanical properties were negatively affected (Olgun, 2016).

4.6. Ileum histomorphological parameters

The results from the current research examined the effect of maca powder addition to growing quail diets
demonstrated that villus width, villus, height, crypt depth, and villus surface area increased linearly. Villus
and crypts are two important components of the absorptive capacity of the small intestine (Heydarian et
al., 2020). The production of enterocytes and desquamation in the crypts reflect a dynamic balance in the
regeneration of the intestinal epithelium (Su et al., 2021). There is no study in the literature evaluated the
effects of maca on the histology of the small intestine. However, it was suggested to be used as a
laxative in malabsorption syndrome (Aliaga ve Aliaga, 1998) due to its digestive properties (Canales et al.,
2000). According to Jin et al. (2018), on the other hand, daily administration of maca at the level of 0.54,
1.08, and 2.16 g/kg body weight to male and female mice with gastrointestinal motility disorder
stimulated the repulsion of gastrointestinal contents. Although not related to maca, it was indicated that
the essential oil mixture of active ingredients of certain aromatic plants did not affect the villus height in
broilers but decreased the crypt depth quadratically with increasing level (Su et al., 2021). Again, Kumar et
al. (2017) clarified that essential oil obtained from an aromatic plant reduced the villus width and villus
surface area, while the villus height and crypt depth were not significantly affected by the treatments.

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5. Conclusions
The current research was carried out to examine the effects of maca powder on performance, carcass,
serum biochemical parameters and hormone concentrations and some bone and ileum properties in
growing quails. In the study, as expected, hormone concentrations were affected by the addition of maca
powder to diet. In addition, ileum histomorphological properties, which are strongly correlated with
digestion and absorption of nutrients, also improved, but the response to this effect was not observed in
performance parameters. According to the results of the research, although further studies are needed, it
could be said that up to 2 g/kg of maca powder can be added to the diets of growing quail.

Declarations
Acknowledgements

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-
for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest 

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Funding: The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation
of this manuscript

Animal welfare statement

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal's author guidelines
page, have been adhered to and the appropriate ethical review committee approval has been re-ceived.
The authors confirm that they have followed EU standards for the protection of animals used for
scientific purposes.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and
analysis were performed by [Osman Olgun], [Esra Tuğçe Gül], [Ahmet Engin Tüzün] and [Alpönder Yıldız].
The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Esra Tuğçe Gül] and all authors commented on previous
versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. 

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Tables
Table 1. Basal diet and its calculated nutrient contents

Ingredients % Nutrient contents %

Corn 51.90 Metabolisable energy, kcal/kg 2900

Soybean meal 41.50 Crude protein 24.02

Soybean oil 2.80 Calcium 1.00

Limestone 1.06 Available phosphorus 0.50

Dicalcium phosphate 1.90 Lysine 1.32

Salt 0.35 Methionine 0.52

Premix1 0.25 Methionine + cystine 0.99

DL methionine 0.24    

Total 100.0    

1Premix provided the following (per kg of diet): Trans-retinol (vitamin A) 3.6 mg; cholecalciferol (vitamin D ) 0.1
3

mg; α-tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) 75 mg; menadione (vitamin K3) 5 mg; thiamine (vitamin B 1) 3 mg; riboflavin

(vitamin B 2) 6 mg; pyridoxine (vitamin B 6) 5 mg; cyanocobalamin (vitamin B 12) 0.03 mg; nicotinic acid 40 mg;

pantothenic acid 10 mg; folic acid 0.75 mg; D-biotin 0.075 mg; choline chloride 375 mg; manganese 80 mg; iron

40 mg; zinc 60 mg; copper 5 mg; iodine 0.15 mg; selenium 0.3 mg.

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Table 2.  Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the performance

parameters

Parameters Levels of maca powder, g/kg   P- value  

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Body weight, g/quail              

Hatching 7.71 7.54 7.60 7.75 7.57 7.64 0.128 0.926 0.843

3 Week 104.5 102.2 101.9 104.2 100.9 102.9 1.60 0.490 0.546

6 Week 206.0 205.2 206.9 204.5 194.8 196.3 1.54 0.001 0.051

Body weight gain, g/quail              

0-3 Week 96.8 94.7 94.3 96.4 93.3 95.2 1.55 0.484 0.546

3-6 Week 101.5 102.9 105.1 100.4 93.9 93.4 1.78 0.001 0.020

0-6 Week 198.3 197.6 199.3 196.8 187.2 188.6 1.55 0.001 0.050

Feed intake, g/quail              

0-3 Week 200.9 199.1 197.8 206.7 200.7 204.1 2.21 0.157 0.744

3-6 Week 517.1 487.8 518.7 479.9 494.3 489.4 9.77 0.108 0.589

0-6 Week 718.0 686.8 716.4 686.6 695.1 693.5 10.39 0.211 0.564
 
Feed conversion ratio, g feed/g gain          

0-3 Week 2.07 2.10 2.09 2.14 2.15 2.14 0.037 0.114 0.764

3-6 Week 5.10 4.74 4.94 4.79 5.27 5.24 0.136 0.100 0.059

0-6 Week 3.57 3.45 3.63 3.32 3.46 3.40 0.052 0.031 0.771

* Standard error means.

Table 3. Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the carcass traits

Page 18/22
 Parameters1 Levels of maca powder, g/kg   P- value

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Carcass 55.80 55.26 53.95 54.73 53.85 55.20 0.675 0.287 0.099

Liver 2.54 2.59 2.53 2.27 2.69 2.18 0.159 0.248 0.615

Heart 0.839 0.869 0.814 0.869 0.770 0.840 0.036 0.493 0.952

Pancreas 0.255 0.264 0.273 0.232 0.232 0.217 0.025 0.202 0.576

Ovary 3.10 3.42 2.90 3.28 3.19 4.19 0.459 0.238 0.284

Testis 1.66 2.10 2.34 2.56 2.83 2.61 0.170 0.001 0.063

1% of BW.

* Standard error means.

Table 4. Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the selected serum

biochemical constituents

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 Parameters Levels of maca powder, g/kg   P- value

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Female                  

Glucose, mg/dL 289 314 303 291 297 315 10.4 0.476 0.758

Total protein, g/dL 4.85 4.85 4.68 4.30 4.55 3.73 0.518 0.152 0.637

Albumin, g/dL 1.50 1.43 1.35 1.38 1.38 1.15 0.106 0.050 0.651

Globulin, g/dL 3.35 3.43 3.23 2.93 3.18 2.58 0.416 0.206 0.644

Creatinine, mg/dL 0.303 0.330 0.318 0.293 0.315 0.323 0.011 0.767 0.718

Calcium, mg/dL 20.30 26.05 22.35 23.75 23.53 17.75 2.761 0.432 0.108

Phosphorus, mg/dL 8.98 9.10 7.03 8.65 8.38 7.43 0.956 0.331 0.843

Male                  

Glucose, mg/dL 318 316 338 338 322 319 9.0 0.743 0.087

Triglyceride, mg/dL 224 259 304 183 158 177 23.9 0.009 0.165

Cholesterol, mg/dL 225 215 202 196 198 165 9.0 0.001 0.544

Total protein, g/dL 2.95 3.13 3.10 2.95 3.08 2.70 0.125 0.194 0.104

Albumin, g/dL 1.00 1.03 1.05 1.05 0.98 0.88 0.046 0.082 0.039

Globulin, g/dL 1.95 2.10 2.05 1.90 2.43 1.83 0.230 0.873 0.296

Creatinine, mg/dL 0.283 0.278 0.280 0.293 0.295 0.288 0.011 0.396 0.913

Calcium, mg/dL 8.38 8.90 8.98 8.95 8.70 8.65 0.112 0.506 0.003

Phosphorus, mg/dL 6.30 7.28 7.68 6.78 6.53 6.58 0.332 0.556 0.039

* Standard error means.

Table 5. Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the serum hormone

concentrations

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 Parameters Levels of maca powder, g/kg   P- value

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Female                  

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, IU/L 0.213 0.155 0.273 0.293 0.213 0.245 0.035 0.286 0.349

Luteinising Hormone, IU/L 0.170 0.153 0.163 0.168 0.163 0.190 0.018 0.423 0.373

Estradiol, pg/mL 56.23 53.23 52.27 45.79 52.47 45.25 4.221 0.131 0.833

Progesterone, ng/mL 0.750 0.903 1.100 1.298 0.858 1.130 0.143 0.150 0.189

Testosterone, ng/dL 17.35 22.49 23.14 26.13 25.77 27.55 3.401 0.063 0.563

Male                  

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, IU/L 0.283 0.180 0.100 0.250 0.143 0.235 0.026 0.433 0.005

Luteinising Hormone, IU/L 0.180 0.140 0.140 0.138 0.140 0.190 0.019 0.810 0.045

Estradiol, pg/mL 13.22 13.45 18.05 16.37 21.01 18.09 2.165 0.068 0.550

Testosterone, ng/dL 217 253 266 319 321 338 23.1 0.002 0.579

* Standard error means

Table 6. Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the bone mechanical

characteristics

Parameters Levels of maca powder, g/kg   P- value

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Cortex thickness, mm 0.438 0.413 0.431 0.429 0.406 0.406 0.019 0.297 0.822

Cortex cross-sectional area, mm2 1.533 1.342 1.492 1.553 1.478 1.431 0.057 0.935 0.771

Shear force, N 214 206 212 188 188 170 7.0 0.001 0.203

Shear stress, N/mm2 139.4 153.6 143.1 121.9 127.8 118.9 6.08 0.002 0.418

* Standard error means.

Table 7.  Effects of supplementation different levels maca powder to growing quail diets on the ileum

histomorphological parameters

Page 21/22
 Parameters Levels of maca powder (g/kg)   P- value

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 SEM* Linear Quadratic

Villus Width, µm 102.3 103.2 116.0 117.2 116.4 113.2 2.76 <0.001 0.003

Villus Height, µm 663 758 717 780 917 917 20.5 <0.001 0.343

Crypt Depth, µm 77.79 92.03 91.43 94.95 101.40 100.79 3.891 <0.001 0.193

Villus Surface Area, mm2 0.216 0.250 0.260 0.291 0.336 0.328 0.011 <0.001 0.390

* Standard error means.

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