Nutrıtıonal Value of Black Cumın (Nigella Sativa) Meal as an Alternatıve Proteın Source in Poultry Nutrıtıon

There has been an increase in the number of research on the use of aromatic essence oils (extracted from aromatic plants) as growth stimulators in animal nutrition as well as in medicine and food industries. These developments have led researchers to explore the possibilities of using the meals of these aromatic plants as alternative protein sources. Such a practice is also expected to contribute to mitigation of environmental pollution and the national economy by promoting utilization of existing potential sources. Black cumin meal can be an important protein source for animals with its proper amino acid content. Black cumin meal contains 298.4 g kg-1 crude protein, 5.49 g kg-1 methionine and 10.75 g kg-1 threonine. The latter two are the strongest limiting amino acids for poultry and black cumin is important as it fully satisfies the amino acid requirement of animals. Black cumin meal has a lower content of lysine (6.41 g kg-1) –the first limiting amino acid for poultry- compared to soybean while having a higher content of lysine compared to copra meal. It is noteworthy that black cumin meal satisfies all amino acid requirements of layers at 12-18 weeks of age and 18 weeks of agestart of laying.