Nutritional modulation of health, egg quality and environmental pollution of the layers

Abstract

World egg production and consumption have been increasing for the past decades. Traditional strategies in poultry nutrition have made vital contributions to this great growth in quantity. However, current global issues should be considered in modern egg production such as growing populations and food security, food safety and quality, limited resources and environmental problems. The development of knowledge of poultry nutrition and modern biotechnology provides novel nutritional approaches to closely fit the requirement of pullets and laying hens, which will consequently decrease the nutrition excretion and maintain the lower cost of feed. Nutrition has also been widely accepted as a strategy to influence health and diseases of laying hens. The maintenance of good health is an important prerequisite for improving productivity and egg quality. In addition, there are many measures and strategies for minimizing the incidence of egg defects and providing a choice of lifestyle to enhance human health. This paper reviews current research progress on developing innovative technologies and strategies to maximize animal health and performance, improve the quality of egg products and minimize pollution caused by poultry production.

Evaluation of Quality of Eggs from Hens Kept in Caged and Free-Range Systems Using Traditional Methods and Ultra-Weak Luminescence

“…However, the quality of eggs is a broader concept, and, although it is partly shaped by the hen-housing conditions, many other factors affect it. These include genetic factors, like breed and line of laying hens (which affects the size and color of the shell, as well as nutritional values [1]), rearing conditions [2], nutrition (feed composition, access to free range), age of laying hens [3] (older hens lay eggs of greater weight, but the quality of their shell is worse [4,5]), and time and storage conditions for eggs [6][7][8]. Eggs undergo numerous analyses and tests to determine their freshness, technological suitability, quality of egg white and egg yolk, nutritional composition, and heavy metal pollution.…”

Characterization of the Intestinal Microbiota and Metabolites of Broiler Breeders with Different Egg Laying Rate

“…In the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum), the host absorbs mostly the nutrients of dietary origin [37], while in the cecum, the host absorbs nutrients that product by microbial fermentation [38,39]. It is well accepted that productive and reproductive performances are influenced by absorption and utilization of nutrients in poultry [40,41]. In the present study, even though both AR and HR birds were fed the same diet, we observed that abdominal fat was lower in the HR birds, but both body and organ weight was not different from that of AR birds (Table 2).…”

Dietary glycerol monolaurate supplementation for the modification of functional properties of egg white protein

“…Most studies concerning modification of the functional properties of EWP are undertaken during food processing, and ,while the published studies on feed additives have been related to the effects of additives on egg quality (egg weight, eggshell strength, yolk color, etc. ), little is known about the influence of feed additives on the functional properties of EWP . Supplementation with curcumin in the diet of laying hens has been reported to increase antioxidant levels in eggs, reduce lipid peroxidation in fresh and stored eggs, and improve egg quality .…”

“…), little is known about the influence of feed additives on the functional properties of EWP. 7,8 Supplementation with curcumin in the diet of laying hens has been reported to increase antioxidant levels in eggs, reduce lipid peroxidation in fresh and stored eggs, and improve egg quality. 9 Fathi et al 8 showed that a diet supplemented with probiotics has a beneficial effects on eggshell quality and resistance to breaking.…”