Effects of Dietary Lutein Sources on Lutein-Enriched Egg Production and Hepatic Antioxidant System in Laying Hens

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of two dietary lutein sources such as the commercial lutein and the emulsified crude extract of spinach containing lutein on the transfer of lutein into egg yolks as well as the antioxidant defense system in the liver of laying hens. A total of thirty-six, 24-week-old White leghorn hens were randomly assigned to a basal diet (CON) and that supplemented with a commercial lutein (LUT, 40 mg lutein /kg of diet) and the crude extract of spinach dissolved into oils with lecithin (ECE, 40 mg lutein/kg of diet) for 5 weeks. There was no difference in body weight and the relative live weight among dietary groups. The concentration of egg yolk lutein and yolk color significantly increased (P＜0.05) in the LUT and ECE groups compared with the CON group. The LUT group showed a higher yolk lutein and much a lower variability of average yolk lutein content, although there was no significant difference in egg yolk lutein content between the LUT and ECE groups. In antioxidant activity, the specific activity of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the LUT group was significantly (P＜0.05) greater than that in the CON and ECE groups, whereas glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione Stransferase (GST) activities and lipid peroxidation were not affected by dietary sources of lutein. In conclusion, the dietary supplementation of lutein and the emulsified crude extract of spinach to laying hens resulted in a significant increase in the content of egg yolk lutein and yolk color, indicating that both supplements may potentially be applicable for the production of egg-enriched lutein in laying hens. This study also suggest that a commercial lutein more consistently produces the quality of lutein-enriched eggs and improves hepatic SOD activity compared with the emulsified crude extract of spinach.

Effect of Dietary Carotenoid on Egg Yolk Color and Singlet Oxygen Quenching Activity of Laying Hens

“…In particular, there was a significant interaction between the effects of breed and diet on lutein content, which showed that the combination of MA dietary treatment and the SF breed resulted in a higher accumulation of lutein in the yolk. Feeding lutein to laying hens enhances hepatic SOD activity (Jang et al, 2014), while feeding them with lycopene increases yolk oxidative stability (An et al, 2019). The present study revealed similar findings, although the carotenoid types were dissimilar.…”

Effects of dietary marigold extract on lutein content, yolk color and fatty acid profile of omega‐3 eggs

“…reported an increase in egg yolk color from 6.4 to 13.1 ( P < 0,001) by supplementation of 250 mg kg −1 lutein to laying hens' feed, while Englmaierová and Skřivan supplemented 100 mg kg −1 lutein to hens' feed and achieved an increase in egg yolk color from 7.7 in the control to 8.4 ( P < 0.001). Jang et al . confirmed that supplementation of even small amounts of lutein (40 mg kg −1 ) affected egg yolk color ( P < 0.05).…”

The role of cinnamon as a modulator of the expression of genes related to antioxidant activity and lipid metabolism of laying quails

“…Others manuscripts show the importance of a balance between the production and elimination of free radicals for a good productive performance of birds in posture [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. We did not observe any improvement in the percentage of posture due to cinnamon supplementation; however, animals fed cinnamon supplementation presented better conversion by egg mass.…”