Fatty acid profile of eggs of semi-heavy layers fed feeds containing linseed oil

Abstract

The incorporation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in chicken eggs by adding oils to the diets has been extensively studied. This experiment aimed at evaluating possible changes in the fatty acid profile of the eggs of layers fed diets supplemented with linseed and soybean oils. The experiment was performed using 192 29 week-old laying hens, distributed in a completely randomized design, into six treatments with four replicates of eight birds each. Treatments consisted of a control diet (no vegetable oil) and diets including 2% of vegetable oil. Linseed oil replaced 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% soybean oil in the diets, corresponding to 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0% of linseed oil in the diet. A pool of two egg yolks from each treatment was submitted to lipid extraction and fatty acid methylation, and subsequent gas chromatography (GC) analysis to detect seven fatty acids. Saturated (myristic and palmitic) fatty acids concentration was affected by lipid dietary source, with the lowest concentration in birds were fed feeds containing linseed oil. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) concentration in the eggs was influenced by different levels of linseed oil inclusion. Linoleic acid egg content increased when linseed oil was used on diet as compared to the control diet. Linseed oil was considered an excellent source of linolenic acid incorporation in the eggs

Production of n-3PUFA Enriched Eggs By Feeding Various Dietary Ratios of n-6 to n-3 Fatty Acids and Vitamin A Levels to the Laying Hens in Hot Climate

“…The decreased OA contents in egg yolks might also be due to the inhibitory effects of PUFA against Δ9-desaturase enzyme activity, preventing the formation of OA from its precursors (Garg et al, 1988). The present trial confirmed the results of previous studies in which supplementation of n-3 PUFA in the hens' diet caused a reduction in OA content of yolks (Jiang et al, 1991;Bou et al, 2004;Souza et al, 2008;Ahmad et al, 2010).…”

Influence of different dietary oil sources on performance and fatty acid profile of egg yolk in laying hens

“…In the current study SO effected in the highest n-6/n-3 ratio in comparison with the other oil sources. Souza et al (2008) reported that the supplementation of diets with LO increased (P<0.05) the unsaturated to saturated FA ratio in the egg yolk and they showed a linear effect of dietary linseed oil inclusion level on LNA:LA and n-6/n3 ratios (P<0.01). LNA can be desaturated and elongated in poultry liver to form DHA.…”

“…However, eggs are also very valuable source of proteins and contains many substances with biological function beyond basic nutrition (Mazalli et al, 2004;Laca et al, 2010;Liu et al, 2010). The eggs from hens provided standard feed are poor in linolenic acid (LNA; 18:3n-3), and does not contain eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6n-3) fatty acids (Souza et al, 2008).…”

Effect of dietary fatty acid saturation on egg production at end-of-lay

“…See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/za/Condition of use: The user may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognise the authors and the South African Journal of Animal Science 6 to omega-3 (n-6 : n-3) fatty acids, as well as the presence of sufficient essential fatty acids (EFAs), could reduce the risk of CVD in humans (Surai et al, 2000;McNamara, 2000;Simopoulos, 2000). It is known that eggs are naturally low in α-linolenic acid and do not contain eicosapentoenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids (Souza et al, 2008). Fortunately, it is possible to overcome these deficiencies by means of dietary enrichment with essential fatty acids.…”

“…In addition to their recognised value as a dense energy source, supplemental fats are excellent sources of essential fatty acids (EFAs), enhance the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, increase the palatability of the diet and reduce dustiness of the feed (Celebi & Macit, 2008). Many studies (Scheideler & Froning, 1996;Cachaldora et al, 2006;Cachaldora et al, 2008;Souza et al, 2008) investigated dietary fatty acid saturation in the production of UFA enriched eggs, but few have focused on the long term effects that enriched diets might have on production performances of commercial layer hens over prolonged periods of time.…”