Effects of Dietary Organic and Inorganic Sulfur on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, Ileal Morphology, and Antioxidant Capacity in Laying Hens

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparative effects of organic and inorganic forms of sulfur, methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM) and sodium sulfate (SS), on laying performance, egg quality, ileal morphology, ileal volatile fatty acids, and antioxidant and stress markers in various biological samples in aged laying hens. A total of 144, 73-week-old Lohman Brown-Lite laying hens were randomly assigned to one of three experimental diets: basal diet (CONT), CONT + 0.2% MSM (MSM), and CONT + 0.3% SS (SS). The trial lasted for 12 weeks. MSM and SS groups contained 0.07% of sulfur, either organic or inorganic. Dietary MSM did not affect egg production and feed conversion ratio at 12 weeks compared with the CONT group. Dietary sulfur did not affect egg quality except for Haugh unit at 4 weeks which was lowered (P < 0.05) in the SS group. Compared with the CONT group, higher (P < 0.05) villus height and crypt depth ratio was observed in the SS group. None of dietary sulfur affected the percentages of short-chain fatty acids in the ileum. Total antioxidant capacity of liver increased (P < 0.05) in laying hens fed MSM- and SS-added diets compared with the CONT group. The MSM and SS groups lowered (P < 0.05) malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in serum samples compared with the CONT. Finally, dietary MSM had the lowest (P < 0.05) MDA concentrations in yolk samples. Taken together, our study showed that dietary organic and inorganic sulfur have positive effects on ileal morphology and antioxidant capacity in laying hens. However, SS-mediated inhibition in laying performance needs to be clarified.