The current study was conducted to evaluate egg quality, egg yolk fatty acids, health-related indices and antioxidants from laying hens' eggs fed different combined vegetable by-products, rich in fatty acids and antioxidants. One hundred twenty 50 weeks-old Tetra SL laying hens were divided into three groups. They were given daily a standard diet (Control, C), a diet containing 9% rapeseed meal with 3% grapeseed meal (T1 diet), or a diet containing 9% flaxseed meal and 3% sea buckthorn meal (T2 diet). Hen production performances, egg quality, egg yolk fatty acids total polyphenols content and antioxidant capacity were determined. The T1 diet significantly reduced the egg yolk content of palmitic acid from 76.615 mg (C) to 46.843 mg (T1) and that of oleic acid from 788.13 mg (C) to 682.83 mg (T1). Feeding flaxseed and sea buckthorn meals significantly increased the egg yolk content of α-linolenic acid in T2 yolks (35.297 mg) compared with C yolks (4.752 mg) and that of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from 16.282 mg (C) to 74.918 mg (T2). The atherogenicity indices (AI) were not significantly affected, whereas the thrombogenicity indices (TI) decreased significantly (p < 0.0007) from 0.72 (C) to 0.60 (T1) and 0.66 (T2), respectively. Adding this combination of meals to the hens' diets, increased the total polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity in T1 and T2 eggs compared to C eggs. The significant enrichment of eggs with n-3 fatty acids and antioxidant capacity, as well on the health-related indices especially from T2 eggs, represents a potential functional feed ingredient in poultry feeding, to obtain eggs as functional food.

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In our experiment we studied the effect of dietary orange peel (OP) and grapefruit peel (GP) on broilers health and thigh meat quality. The experiment was conducted on 126 Cobb 500 broiler chicks, assigned to three dietary treatments with 42 broilers per group. Each treatment was conducted in 3 experimental growth boxes, corresponding to 6 replicate pens per treatment and 7 broilers per pen. The growth boxes had identical size with a capacity of 3.5 m 2 per box. Experimental dietary treatments differed from control diet (C) by addition of 2% OP or 2% GP supplement. A significant increase in body weight was exhibited in OP group compared to GP group (p < .05). Serum energetic profile (glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride) were lowered in both OP and GP supplemented groups compared to C birds (p < .05). Among fatty acids in thigh meat, OP group has increased the sum of PUFA compared to GP group. Dietary OP and GP have effectively reduced the oxidation process occurring during storage measured by the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values in thigh meat. Therefore, lipid oxidation was delayed by incorporating the two citrus peels in broiler diet. Monitoring the antimicrobial effect of OP and GP on intestinal and caecal microbiota population, the supplements reduced the growth of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp., proving their antimicrobial effect, while the beneficial bacteria, Lactobacillus spp. was significantly improved. HIGHLIGHTS The use of vegetable residues in the animal diets is an important economic and environmental factor. The positive effects were observed on thigh meat lipid oxidation, serum energetic profile and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens. Citrus peel in broilers feeding can act as natural antioxidant and feed additive.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of grape seed oil (GSO) supplementation to broilers fed polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-enriched diets on growth performance, color, texture, fatty acid content and lipid peroxidation of meat. The 4-week feeding trial was conducted on 120 Cobb 500 broilers, assigned to three groups and housed in an experimental hall on permanent wood shaves litter. GSO was tested as source of natural antioxidants at different levels, 0% (GSO0, control), 1.5% (GSO1.5) and 3% (GSO3) in the presence of 4% flaxseed meal (FSM) in a completely randomized design. The results show that at the end of the experiment (42 days) the GSO supplementation had no effect (p < 0.05) on productivity parameters, except the final weight which was improved in GSO3 compared to GSO. The thigh meat color indicated a higher degree of lightness (p < 0.05), but the meat texture was not influenced (p < 0.05) by the new tested diets. The GSO diets increased (p < 0.05) the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content and decreased the PUFA content in the thigh meat. Thigh meat samples from GSO treatments had significantly (p < 0.05) improved oxidative stability. In the breast meat only the concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) decreased (p < 0.05). It is concluded that the GSO significantly improved the thigh meat oxidative stability.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the of dietary pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seed meal (PSM) on laying performance, quality, fatty acids, cholesterol, antioxidant compounds and shelf life of eggs.Methods: Eighty Tetra SL laying hens, 50-week-old, were randomly divided into two equal groups, having 10 replicates with 4 birds in each. The control (CON) treatment was fed with basal diet, while experimental treatment was fed a diet with 9% pumpkin seed meal (PSM), for a 6 weeks period.Results: Dietary PSM significantly decreased average daily feed intake (p<0.05), with no significant effect on other performance parameters. The PSM, enriched the eggs with polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially α linolenic acid (0.33 vs. 0.21g/100g) and linoleic acid (20.65 vs. 18.37 g/100g), whereas it reduced the amount of arachidonic acid with 3.91% and n-6/n-3 ratio in PSM eggs compared with CON. The inclusion of 9% PSM significantly (p<0.05) diminished the cholesterol concentration in yolk with 11.31% and in egg with 10.38%, in respect to the CON samples. The significantly (p<0.05) higher concentration of polyphenols and antioxidant compounds, determined in PSM eggs, proved to be effective on shelf life of eggs preserved at refrigerator (5°C) and room temperature (21°C) for 28 days, by delaying the lipid oxidation and protein denaturation. This effect was reflected in significantly (p<0.05) higher Haugh Unit in eggs stored 28 days at 21°C and lower albumen pH values for the overall storage time, both at 5°C and 21°C, proving the antioxidant effect of pumpkin. Conclusion:Dietary PSM supplementation was significantly effective on average daily feed intake and egg quality by increasing some fatty acids while lowering the cholesterol concentration. Also, PSM proved to be effective on shelf life of eggs for 28 days storage time.