Egg Freshness Indexes Correlations with Ovomucin Concentration during Storage

Abstract

The relationship between protein changes and egg quality during storage is a critical area of investigation in both basic science and egg product preservation. Viscosity changes in albumen are a sensitive sign of the deterioration process. Ovomucin, which is present in albumen, plays an important role in the gelation of the albumen. Egg freshness indices and ovomucin concentration will alter in response to storage time. This paper analyzed the correlation and gray relational degree between the Haugh unit (HU), yolk index, albumen pH, and ovomucin concentration. We studied the differences in the ovomucin concentration at different levels of HU, yolk index, and pH during storage. We established an equivalent egg age prediction model using ovomucin concentration as the independent variable. The findings indicated a correlation between the freshness indices and the ovomucin concentration. There was a good, significantly positive relationship between HU and ovomucin concentration (r = 0.713, P < 0.01 ), a positive correlation between the yolk index and ovomucin concentration (r = 0.699, P < 0.01 ), and a negative correlation between albumen pH and ovomucin concentration (r = −0.683, P < 0.01 ). The highest Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.970, P < 0.01 ) was obtained between the albumen and ovomucin concentration. Significant differences in ovomucin concentration were observed when HU, yolk index, and pH were varied. The gray relational degree between each freshness parameter and ovomucin concentration was greater than 0.8. Between the HU and ovomucin concentration, there was a gray correlation degree of 0.885, indicating that the HU was the primary factor affecting ovomucin concentration variation during storage. During storage, at 22°C, the ovomucin concentration in albumen was significantly and negatively related to storage time (r = −0.926, P < 0.05 ). The coefficient of determination for the equivalent egg age prediction model with ovomucin concentration as the independent variable was 0.985 ( P < 0.05 ), indicating strong reliability. The study’s findings show the possibility of nondestructive prediction of an egg’s internal microscopic protein composition using its freshness index value.

Essential Oils as a Dietary Additive for Laying Hens: Performance, Egg Quality, Antioxidant Status, and Intestinal Morphology: A Meta-Analysis

“…EOs contain terpenoids such as thymol and carvacrol [9,71], which have been reported to stimulate ovomucin synthesis in laying hens [72]. Similar effects of the consumption of EOs in the present meta-analysis would partly explain the increases observed in the AH, HU, and YI because, in laying hens, the AH, HU, and YI are positively correlated (r between 0.69 and 0.71) with the ovomucin concentration in egg [73]. On the other hand, Kavan et al [43] mentioned that dietary pigments are the main factors influencing YC changes.…”

Whey Protein Isolate and Garlic Essential Oil as an Antimicrobial Coating to Preserve the Internal Quality of Quail Eggs

“…However, the HU covering the entire period (average of 28 days of storage) was higher (p < 0.05) for WPI/GEO-(88.26 ± 4.83, grade AA) coated eggs than WPI-coated (86.55 ± 6.20, grade AA) and UE (85.94 ± 6.46, grade AA) (Figure 2). Published reports have shown that the higher the HU, the greater the amount of ovomucin in the albumen [29]. Thus, the coatings may have preserved more of the ovomucin, as this is a protein that plays an important role in maintaining the viscosity and height of the same [29].…”

“…Published reports have shown that the higher the HU, the greater the amount of ovomucin in the albumen [29]. Thus, the coatings may have preserved more of the ovomucin, as this is a protein that plays an important role in maintaining the viscosity and height of the same [29]. Protein coatings with essential oils can be efficient tools to keep the HU within the ideal range for grading the quality of eggs (AA) stored at room temperature [22,30].…”

Predict the Gelling Properties of Alkali-Induced Egg White Gel Based on the Freshness of Duck Eggs

“…First, at present, in the research on the effects of the freshness of raw eggs on the gelling properties of PEW, the microbial quality and damage rate of the products were not considered, so the raw duck eggs were stored for 40 days at room temperature [11]. In addition, there are many indicators for evaluating the freshness of raw eggs, such as Haugh unit, yolk index, albumen pH, chamber height, and so on [12,13], and the correlation between the freshness of raw eggs and the gelling properties of alkali-induced EWG has not been established.…”