In this study, chemical compositions of black seed meals samples were determined. 18 male weaning Zandi lambs with an average body weight of 23.5 ±1.5 kg were used in a completely randomized design in three groups of six in individual pens. Experimental treatments were: 1) control (basal diet with 12% soybean meal and without black seed meal), 2) diet containing 6% soybean meal and 9% black seed meal and 3) diet containing 18% black seed meal and without soybean meal. The concentration of dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, NDF, ADF, ADIN, and crude ash of black seed meal samples were 97.53±0.58, 31.26±0.99, 15.16 ± 0.61, 25.95 ± 1.34, 14.2±0.80, 0.69±0.04 and 5.07 ± 0.24, respectively. Replacement of soybean meal with black seed meal in the diet of experimental lambs had no effect on final body weight, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, dry matter intake, dressing percentage, tail and total body fat deposition. Albumin and total protein were higher for lambs fed by diet containing 18 % black seed meal compared to other treatments (P <0.05). However, the concentration of blood triglyceride, cholesterol and urea nitrogen were not differed between experimental groups. The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude fat and protein were not affect by feeding of experimental diets. It seems that black seed meal can be used in the diet of fattening lambs up to 18% without adverse effect on performance and nutrients digestibility of growing lambs.

Introduction: It has been estimated that feed is the major cost associated with commercial poultry production. Conventional plant proteins, such as soybean meal tend to increase the poultry production costs due to limitation in cultivation in some region and therefore, their being transported from other countries. Hence, inclusion of nonconventional feed resource becomes of primary importance in poultry production to maintain the productivity at a lower cost. Black seed (Nigella sativa) referred to an important medical crop in many countries and is primarily consumed as medical oil. Black seed meal (BSM) is by-product after oil removal and can be used as a protein-rich meal (21). Black seed meal contains about 31. 75 % crude protein and 19. 37 % ether extract and it can be used as good sources of protein and energy (21) and substitution of soybean meal in laying hens practical diets. However, reports on the use of BSM in laying hens diets in second cycle of production are not enough, therefore, in this study, we considered the effect of different levels of black seed meal on laying hens performance in second production cycle. Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted to determine the fatty acids composition of black seed meal and its effects on performance and egg qualitative traits of laying hens in second production cycle. In the first step, Gas-chromatography was used for determination the fatty acids composition of BSM. In the second step, a total of One hundred and twenty Hy-Line W-36 leghorn hens were housed in cages and randomly allocated to 5 treatment groups for 8 weeks. Each group was divided in to 4 replicates. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. The hens received basal diet (corn and soybean meal based diet with 14. 80 % crude protein and 2813 kcal/ kg metabolizable energy) that was formulated to meet the Hy-line W-36 requirements recommended for nutrients. The diet did not have any antibiotics and coccidiostats. Dietary treatments were included 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 percentage of BSM by expense of Soybean meal in basal diet and clarified as BSM0 (control), BSM5, BSM10, BSM15 and BSM20 respectively. Experiment was designed in a completely randomized design. Egg weight (gr), egg production (%) and egg mass (gr/hen/day) were recorded daily. Feed consumption was measured weekly and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (grams of feed: grams of egg mass) was calculated weekly too. At the end of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of the experiment, two eggs from each replicate were randomly selected for measurement the egg qualitative traits. In this paper laying hens performance factors and egg quality parameters were calculated in three phase, the first 4 weeks, second 4 weeks and total period. Blood serum characteristics were evaluated in the end of experiment by bleeding from laying hens wings. Results and Discussion: The results of this experiment showed that linoleic acid (41. 51), oleic acid (34. 67 %), palmetic acid (16. 12 %), stearic acid (5. 59), and linolenic acid (1. 97) were the major BSM fatty acids. As it clear, the linoleic acid and oleic acid are most abundant fatty acid (unsaturated) in BSM. Feed intake was decreased by inclusion of BSM in laying hens diet and minimum feed intake was observed in BSM20. It seems to be the bitter taste of black seed meal is responsible for the decline of feed intake. It was reported that BSM has anti-nutritional substance and alkaloids (saponins), that these factors can reduce feed intake when used in high amount in poultry diets (21 and El-Dakhakhny, 1996). Laying hens egg mass was decreased in BSM10, BSM15 and BSM20 groups when compared with control group. Egg mass was calculated by multiplying egg weight in egg production. Reduced of feed intake can affect availability of nutrient for egg production and egg weight, and, therefore, egg mass will be decrease. Scientists reported that BSM can increase laying hens’ body weight and increasing body weight can decrease egg production. Laying hens’ serum cholesterol and triglyceride content were decreased significantly in BSM5 when compared with other groups. It was reported that essential oils in BSM can reduce activity of HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A) reductase that has vital role in cholesterol synthesis (Crowell, 1999). Conclusion: According to the results of this experiment, using BSM in 5 percent can reduce blood cholesterol and triglyceride without adverse effect on performance parameters.

Black cumin seed meal, a by-product of oil extraction, contains high levels of nutritional proteins, as well as desirable compounds such as antioxidants and fiber. In this research work, the effects of replacing wheat flour with black cumin seed (Nigella sativa) meal at the levels of 0, 5, 15 and 15% on the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of sponge cake were investigated. The chemical analysis of black cumin seed meal showed that it had high content of protein (40%) and fiber (10%), so that increasing the level of black cumin seed meal from 0 to 15% in the formulation of sponge cake resulted in a significant (p<0. 05) increase in the protein and fiber content of the samples. Addition of black cumin seed meal significantly decreased the content of moisture in the cake samples while significantly increased the fat and ash content and did not change the pH values of the cake samples significantly (p<0. 05). Upon increasing the level of meal in the formulation, the volume and density indices of the samples decreased and increased, respectively. The color indices of L*, a*and b* of meal incorporated cake samples decreased, comparing to those of control sample (0% of meal). The results of texture analysis showed that increasing the levels of black cumin seed meal from 0 to 15% in the formulation, reduced (p<0. 05) the firmness of cake samples. Finally, the results of physicochemical and sensory analyses of the cake samples showed that addition of black cumin seed meal at the level of 10% was the most appropriate amount for enrichment of sponge cake and thus formulating a functional product, since undesirable changes in the mentioned properties of the samples were detected upon addition of higher amount of meal.

To study the effects of replacing canola meal with black seed meal on performance, blood parameters and carcass characteristics, eighteen male lambs (with initial BW, 29. 5 ± 1. 5 kg and 110 ± 7 days of age) were used in a completely randomized design with 3 different treatments over 90 days. Experimental treatments were: 1) control; diet containing 9% canola meal, 2) diet containing 4. 5 % canola meal plus 4. 5 % black seed meal and 3) diet containing 9 % black seed meal. The amount of dry matter, ash, crude protein, fat, NDF, ADF, and ADIN of black seed meal was 92. 60 ± 0. 58, 7. 24± 0. 27, 35. 8± 1. 0, 12. 31± 0. 51, 24. 56± 1. 24, 13. 0± 0. 79 and 2. 15± 0. 17, respectively. There were no significant differences between treatments for digestibility of organic matter, NDF, fat and protein. Daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio, daily weight gain, final body weight, carcass efficiency, weight of liver, heart, kidney and testis were not differed between experimental groups. However, lambs fed with black seed meal had lower level of subcutaneous fat, tail-fat and total body fat deposition compared to control group (P<0. 05). Feeding 9% black seed meal increased blood total protein and albumin concentration compared to the other experimental groups (P<0. 05). The results of this study showed that it could be feasible to use black seed meal up to 9% in finishing lamb diet.

Watermelon seed full-fat (WMSF) and watermelon seed meal (WMSM) samples were analyzed for proximate composition and then incorporated in broiler chicks diets at increasing levels up to 20%. Feeding increasing levels of WMSF to broiler chicks for up to 20% increased weight gain (P<0.05), feed intake, protein consumed, protein efficiency ratio and improved feed conversion ratio. A positive linear effect was observed for weight gain, protein consumed and protein efficiency ratio in birds fed WMSF. Feed intake was linearly increased with increasing the level of WMSM. However, no similar response was noted for weight gain, protein consumed, protein efficiency ratio and feed gain ratio in chicks given increasing levels of WMSM. The study indicated that WMSF and WMSM may be used as feed ingredients in broiler chick diets at up to 20%.

This study investigated the effects of hydrolyzed black cumin seed protein (HBCP) as a potential source of bioactive peptides on broiler chicken performance. A total of 560 Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly allocated to seven dietary treatments: a control diet and six treatments containing varying levels of HBCP (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.2%), prebiotic (0.2%), or organic acid (0.2%). Results showed that the inclusion of 0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.2% HBCM in broiler diets improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the entire rearing period. Additionally, the addition of 0.2% prebiotic and organic acid to the diet signifi-cantly increased body weight and decreased feed conversion ratio compared to the control group (P<0.05). Inclusion of 0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.2% HBCM in the diet significantly increased the digestibility of dry matter and organic matter compared to the control group (P<0.05). The use of 0.15% and 0.2% HBCM improved ash digestibility compared to the control group (P<0.05). The inclusion of prebiotics and organic acids in broiler diets also significantly improved the digestibility of dry matter, ash, and organic matter (P<0.05). Furthermore, the addition of HBCP, prebiotic, and organic acid positively influenced intestinal morphology, characterized by increased villus height, width, while decreasing crypt depth (P<0.05). Regarding blood biochemistry, HBCP, prebiotic, and organic acid supplementation led to decreased cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglyceride levels, while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (P<0.05). The results of this experiment demonstrated that bioactive peptides derived from black cumin hydrolysate exerted effects comparable to those of prebiotics and organic acids, improving productive traits in broilers.