Performance, Egg Quality, and Immunity of Laying Hens due to Natural Carotenoid Supplementation: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Brazil is considered as a great broiler feet exporter, especially for the Chinese trade. Contact lesions at the tibiotarsal region are responsible for economic losses and there is no model for its classification, thereby this study presents a fast and practical grade system to be used in the poultry industry and proposes these lesion characterizations into three different grades. For this, correlation was made between macroscopic, histological findings and microbiological quantification ( Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and sulphite-reducing clostridia) from contact lesions in the tibiotarsal region of 112 broiler carcasses, divided in four groups (n=28), accordingly to the lesion’s intensity. There were no significant differences in microbiological quantification among the groups (p>0.05) except for the grade 3 group, as grade 1 and 2 lesions were in the early stages and histopathological changes such as ulceration were not observed. In grade 3 lesion group, it was observed bacterial cocci grume and ulceration at the articular region and significantly higher microbiological count (p<0.05) for E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. In conclusion, the visual standard proposed in this work, correlated and confirmed by the histopathologic, and microbiologic characterization, allows to precise and fast ascertainment of the contact lesion grade in the tibiotarsal regions of broiler carcasses. Moreover, it should be highlighted that grades 1 and 2 alterations are not caused by an inflammatory process caused by pathogenic agents and should not be considered a public health risk.

The use of purple carrot powder in the diet of laying quails improved some egg quality characteristics, including antioxidant capacity

“…In the current experiment, dietary treatments with PCP did not negatively affect quail development and egg production, making PCP a viable option to use as quails feed. Similar findings on these parameters have been reported when natural sources of carotenoids were added to the hens (de Souza et al, 2019 ; Maia et al, 2022 ; Pirgozliev et al, 2022 ; Yunitasari et al, 2022 ) and broiler (Wang et al, 2017 ; Csernus et al, 2020 ) diets. According to a previously published study (Pérez-Gálvez et al, 2020 ), carotenoids are an important source of bioactive compounds that play an important role in preventing certain diseases.…”

“…Hammershøj et al ( 2010 ) described those purple carrots had a high pigment ability due to the higher beta-carotene content which is greater than traditional carrots. The findings of the current experiment suggest a higher bioavailability of pigment compounds that would be assimilable in the small intestine (Yunitasari et al, 2022 ) by laying quails, as reflected by changes in yolk color.…”

“…Probably, the lack of development improvement of the animals related to the PCP diet could be because quails were in similar health conditions. The performance improvement, related to the carotenoid diet, is most obvious when the health condition of the animals is compromised (Nabi et al, 2018 ; Csernus et al, 2020 ) or during environmental stress conditions (Saeed et al, 2017 ; Yunitasari et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Eggshell weight and eggshell thickness were increased as PCP rose in the diet. According to the meta-analysis carried out by Yunitasari et al ( 2022 ), the effect of natural sources of carotenoids on these parameters is uncertain. Pirgozliev et al ( 2022 ) described that supplementation with stevia in hens’ diet not affected eggshell weight or eggshell thickness.…”

“…These authors reported that the addition of marigold extract to a broiler diet significantly increased the b* value of the thigh muscle and skin, suggesting that natural pigments were generally more effective than synthetic ones in enhancing the yellowness, making PCP a be a viable option as an alternative to synthetic egg colorants. Several factors influence carotenoid distribution from feed to egg synthesis, including accessibility, openness, fringe tissue interest, a carotenoid compound, carotenoid liking, and the ability of lipid vesicles to cross liver and egg layers (Yunitasari et al, 2022 ). Hammershøj et al ( 2010 ) described those purple carrots had a high pigment ability due to the higher beta-carotene content which is greater than traditional carrots.…”