Two experiments were conducted to investigate the dietary effect of chlorella vulgaris on egg production and lutein incorporation into chicken eggs. In Exp. 1, a total of three hundred, 70 wk-old Hy-Line brown layers were divided into six groups with five replicates and fed each experimental diet (corn-SBM based control diet and diets with 0.1, 0.3 or 0.5% chlorella powder and with 0.8 or 2.4% chlorella cultured media) for 6 wk, respectively. The egg production in the groups fed diets containing the chlorella powder and chlorella cultured media were higher than that of the control group (p<0.001). As dietary chlorella levels increased, the yolk color linearly increased. However, there were no significant differences in eggshell qualities. The layers fed diet with 2.4% chlorella cultured media showed the highest Haugh unit value. In Exp. 2, a total of one hundred-eight 80 wk-old Hy-Line brown layers were assigned into four groups with three replicates per group (9 birds per replicate). The birds were fed one of four experimental diets (0, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0% chlorella powder) for 4 wk, followed by a 14 d feeding of a withdrawal diet devoid of chlorella powder. At 2 wk, the lutein greatly increased with increasing levels of chlorella powder in birds fed diets containing more than 1%. The maximum incorporation of lutein into eggs was reached after 2 or 3 wk of feeding diets with chlorella powder. After a 7 d withdrawal, the lutein contents of egg yolks in the groups fed diets with more than 1% chlorella powder were still higher than that of control group (p<0.05). No significant differences in the lutein levels were found among groups after a 14 d withdrawal period. These results indicated that the use of chlorella in layer diets was effective in improving egg production and egg quality and for the production of lutein fortified eggs.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the feeding values of red pepper seed oil meal (RPSOM) and to investigate its dietary supplementation on broiler performances. In Exp. 1, nutritional values of RPSOM were evaluated by analyzing chemical composition and determining true metabolizable energy (TME), nitrogen corrected TME (TMEn) and true available amino acid (TAAA). RPSOM contained 22.50% of CP, 4.75% of ether extract, 27.70% of crude fiber, 4.73% of crude ash and 49.97 ppm of xanthophylls. The contents of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were 34 mg and 31 mg/100 g DM, respectively. The values of TME and TMEn determined by force-feeding 16 roosters were 1.73 kcal/g and 1.63 kcal/g DM, respectively. The average TAAA value of 17 amino acids was 85.22%. In Exp. 2, a total of 225 Ross male broiler chicks, 3 weeks old, were randomly divided into 9 groups of 25 birds each and assigned to three experimental diets containing 0 (control), 5 or 10% RPSOM fed ad libitum for 3 weeks. No significant differences were observed in growth performances and carcass characteristics. The level of serum cholesterol in the 10% RPSOM group was significantly lower than that of the control group (113.92 vs. 137.50 mg/dl). The dietary RPSOM at 5 and 10% levels increased the content of C18:2 ω6 in leg muscle compared with the control group. The results suggested that RPSOM can be included into broiler feed up to 10% without any negative effects on broiler performances and physiological responses and used as a non-conventional plant protein source, if its nutritional values are well evaluated.