Does supplementing laying hen diets with a herb mixture mitigate the negative impacts of excessive inclusion of extruded flaxseed?

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the effects of extruded flaxseed with and without herbs mixture on egg performance, yolk fatty acids (FAs), lipid components, blood biochemistry, serological enzymes, antioxidants and immune system of Hy-Line W-36 hens for nine weeks.Methods: Two hundred forty laying hens were randomly distributed to eight treatments, resulting in six replicates with five hens. Graded levels of dietary extruded flaxseed (0, 90, 180, and 270 g/kg) with and without herbs mixture (24 g/kg: garlic, ginger, green tea, and turmeric 6 g /kg each) were designed as treatments. Results:The two-way ANOVA indicated that hens fed herbs mixture had a higher value of egg production, yolk high-density lipoprotein, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and white blood cell and lower contents of yolk cholesterol, glucose, and blood low-density lipoprotein than those fed diets without herb mixtures (p<0.05). The Flx27 (270 g/kg flaxseed) (153.5 g/kg n-3 FAs) and Flx27+H (270 g/kg flaxseed plus 24 g/kg herbs mixture) (150.5 g/kg n-3 FAs) groups were the most promising treatments in terms of yolk n-3 FAs content. Interaction effect (herbs-flaxseed) for blood cholesterol, high- A c c e p t e d A r t i c l edensity lipoprotein (HDL), malondialdehyde, glutaredoxin, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), haemoglobin and immune parameters was significant (p<0.05). The results showed layers fed herbs mixture (Flx9+H, Flx18+H, and Flx27+H) had a better value of total antibody, immunoglobulin M, immunoglobulin G, ALT, AST, and blood HDL as compared with representative flaxseed levels without herbs. Conclusion:High inclusion levels of extruded flaxseed (270 g/kg) without herbs to enrich eggs with n-3 appears to impair the antioxidant system, immunohematological parameters, and serological enzymes.Interestingly, the herbs mixture supplementation corrected those effects. Therefore, feeding layers with flaxseed-rich diets (270 g/kg) and herbs mixture can be a promising strategy to enrich eggs with n-3 FAs.

Antioxidant Status, Lipid Metabolism, Egg Fatty Acids, and Nutritional Index of White-Egg Laying Hens Fed Flaxseed Cake

“…The current study demonstrated successful incorporation of long-chain n -3 PUFAs (e.g., ALA, EPA, and DHA) into the egg yolk via dietary FSCM. These results agree with those of previous studies[ 55 , 59 , 67 , 68 ]. Dietary incorporation of 5 or 10% flaxseed meal in laying hen diets increased the egg yolk contents of PUFAs and n -3 PUFAs, whereas those of MUFAs and the n -3: n -6 ratio decreased[ 54 ].…”

“…These results are consistent with those of previous studies[ 54 ] with regard to serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and the HDL-cholesterol:total cholesterol ratio. Moreover, dietary extruded flaxseed at up to 270 g/kg did not significantly affect the serum concentrations of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol[ 55 ]. However, we found that dietary 10% FSCM increased the serum concentration of HDL cholesterol compared with that in the control.…”

“…However, dietary-soaked flaxseed meal reduced all lipid fractions in the egg yolk[ 3 ]. In addition, feeding extruded flaxseed (18–27%) reduced the egg yolk cholesterol content[ 55 ]. Similarly, contradictory results regarding the effect of flaxseed addition on yolk HDL-cholesterol content encompass an increase[ 3 ], no change[ 59 ], or a decrease[ 61 ].…”

“…Moreover, dietary incorporation of 5 or 10% flaxseed meal in laying hens diet did not significantly influence serum concentrations of GPX, superoxide dismutase, or thiobarbituric acid reactive substances[ 54 ]. It has been further postulated that dietary extruded flaxseed of up to 27% does not significantly affect serum GRX activity in laying hens[ 55 ]. The non-significant effect of the incorporation of FSCM on MDA concentration in the serum and eggs suggests that serum MDA may be maintained at normal concentrations by defensive mechanisms, such as hepatic microsomes that possess the ability to degenerate MDA[ 62 ] and prevent lipid peroxidation in the blood serum[ 8 ].…”

Flaxseed Reduces Cancer Risk by Altering Bioenergetic Pathways in Liver: Connecting SAM Biosynthesis to Cellular Energy

“…Humans are considered potentially pre-diabetic when HbA1c% exceeds 5.7%, and type 2 diabetes is suspected when HbA1c% exceeds 6.5% [ 167 ]. Humans display a normal blood glucose of 100 mg/dL, whereas laying hens display a higher, normal blood glucose of 300 mg/dL [ 168 ]. Despite having high glucose, chickens have a low HbA1c% ranging from less than 1.0% to slightly less than 2.0% [ 85 , 169 ].…”