Effect of <i>Cordyceps Militaris </i>Waster Medium on Production Performance, Egg Traits and Egg Yolk Cholesterol of Laying Hens

Abstract

Cordyceps militaris waster medium (CMWM) is a by-product of the edible portion of the fruiting body of Cordyceps fungi. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the CMWM on the production performance, egg quality and egg yolk cholesterol of laying hens. An in vitro study showed that the reducing power of the CMWM extracts increased linearly with its concentration; at a concentration of 4.0 mg/mL, it reached a level of roughly 60% ascorbic acid at 0.5 mg/mL, while inhibition of lipid peroxidation of the CMWM extracts at 15.0 mg/mL reached nearly 50%. Sixty 22-week-old laying hens (Hendrix) were randomly allocated into 4 groups with 5 replicates, 3 birds per replicate. They were fed diets supplemented with the following levels of the CMWM: 0 (control group, corn-soybean meal), 5.0, 10.0, or 20.0 g/kg dried CMWM groups for 12 weeks, respectively. The results revealed that the 20.0 g/kg CMWM group exhibited significantly decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) and increased egg white weight compared to the control group at 5-8 and 9-12 weeks. The supplemented CMWM groups showed significantly elevated egg mass in comparison to the control group at 5-8 and 9-12 weeks. There were no effects for egg yolk weight, egg shell weight, shell thickness and egg yolk color between the groups. Those groups which were supplemented with 10.0 and 20.0 g/kg dried CMWM showed significantly decreased egg cholesterol compared to the control group at 9-12 weeks. On the basis of these observations, we concluded that CMWM, a by-product of Cordyceps militaris, could be employed as a new feed additive that offers potential benefits for elevating egg mass and producing lower cholesterol eggs by laying hens.

Effects of Cordyceps Militaris Polysaccharide on Egg Production, Egg Quality and Caecal Microbiota of Layer Hens.

“…In the present study, the differences in the egg quality between the three groups were insignificant. Similarly, scholars observed that supplementing a diet with C. militaries waster medium did not improve eggshell thickness and egg shell strength (Wang et al, 2015).…”

“…Researchers emphasized that feeding laying hens with C. militaries waster medium decreased significantly feed conversion ratio (FCR) and increased egg production. They also showed that ascorbic acid and C. militaries waster mediuman have approximately the same reducing power (Wang et al, 2015 ) Cifticiet al indicated that ascorbic acid can partially inhibit adverse oxidative protein denaturation and improve nutrient digestibility and FCR (Ciftici,et al,2005). As such, the feed-egg ratio of the hens receiving the added CMP in the present study was likely to decrease and egg production to increased.…”

“…For example, Cordyceps polysaccharides could promote the early growth of chickens, increase the feed conversion ratio and enhance the daily growth gain of broilers (Han et al, 2015). C. militaris waster medium increased the egg production rate and decreased the feed-egg ratio (F/G) (Wang et al, 2015). Hot-water extract from the mycelia of C. sinensis maintained the better microbial flora from the intestines of chickens and improved the growth performance and health index of chickens (Koh et al, 2003).…”

Use of Medicinal Mushrooms in Layer Ration

“…The mushroom, Cordyceps militaris, was used in layer diets to evaluate the performance and egg yolk cholesterol level by Wang et al [57]. The results showed significantly lower (p < 0.05) egg cholesterol in mushroom fed groups with 1% and 2% levels than the control fed groups.…”

Effect of Monochromic Light-emitting Diode Light with Different Color on the Growth and Reproductive Performances of Breeder Geese

“…Moreover, it also activates the development of reactive substances, such as enzymes and vitamins in embryos ( Er et al, 2007 ). Evidently, the source, spectrum, intensity and regimen of artificial light supplementation are critical factors for the modern management of the poultry industry ( Borille et al, 2013 ; Morrill et al, 2014 ; Lee et al, 2015 ; Wang et al, 2015 ).…”