Effects of a mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde supplementation on laying performance, egg quality, and antioxidant status in laying hens

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThis study aimed to determine the effects of a mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde (GCM) supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant capacity, and serum parameters of laying hens. A total of 1120 14‐week‐old Jingfen‐1 strain laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: control, and GCM groups supplemented with 250, 500, or 1000 mg kg−1 for 12 weeks.RESULTSCompared with the control group, GCM‐supplemented groups significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the rate of unqualified eggs of laying hens aged 17–24 weeks. Supplementation of GCM significantly increased (P < 0.05) yolk color and serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) activity but decreased (P < 0.05) the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content in the serum of laying hens at the age of 20 weeks. Furthermore, groups supplemented with GCM showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in Haugh unit, yolk color, activities of total superoxide dismutase and GSH‐Px, and the glucose content in serum, and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the content of urea nitrogen and H2O2 and malondialdehyde in serum of laying hens at the age of 24 weeks. 500 mg kg−1 GCM supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) the number of large white follicles and 1000 mg kg−1 GCM supplementation decreased the number of large yellow follicles in 28‐week‐old laying hens.CONCLUSIONThese results indicated that GCM supplementation has positive effects on reducing egg loss and improving egg quality in the early laying period of laying hens. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Responses of intestinal morphology, immunity, antioxidant status and cecal microbiota to the mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde in laying hens

“…Colonized Bacillus, Clostridium , and Lactobacillus are often used as probiotics in the poultry industry ( Liu et al, 2023 ). A study has shown that lactic acid bacteria, as a beneficial bacterium, can improve the feed efficiency of chickens ( Yan et al, 2017 ), which is consistent with the results of our previous study that 1,000 mg/kg GCM supplementation can significantly improve the laying performance, egg quality and serum antioxidant status of laying hens ( Li et al, 2024 ). It was found in this experiment that Clostridia was significantly enriched in 1,000 mg/kg GCM group using LEfSe.…”

“…It was found in our previous study that glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde mixture ( GCM ) addition can significantly improve egg quality and serum antioxidant status in laying hens ( Li et al, 2024 ). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the responses of intestinal morphology, immunity, antioxidant status and cecal microbiota to the GCM addition in laying hens, and to provide a new way to further explore the mechanism of GCM improving intestinal health.…”