Assessment of Response to Moderate and High Dose Supplementation of Astaxanthin in Laying Hens

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the impact of moderate and high dose dietary supplementation of astaxanthin on production performance, quality of eggs, and health status of laying hens. The experiment involved 480 laying hens, divided into four groups of eight replicates. The different groups named A1, A2, A3, and A4 were allocated the same diet supplemented with Haematococcus pluvialis powder to provide 0, 21.3, 42.6, and 213.4 mg of astaxanthin per kilogram of feed, respectively. One-way ANOVA and linear and quadratic regression analysis were used to assess the differences between the groups. The results showed that the production performance of laying hens and the physical quality of eggs did not significantly differ between the groups (p > 0.05). Astaxanthin distribution in tissues was typical per bird, whereas the egg yolk coloration and astaxanthin concentration increased with the supplementation dose (p < 0.001). However, there was a decrease in concentration and coloration efficacy of astaxanthin at high dose supplementation (213.4 mg/kg) compared to moderate doses (21.3 and 42.6 mg/kg). Blood biochemical tests showed some discrepancies that were not ascribed to the effect of diets, and the increase in liver weight in the A4 group compared to others was equated with an adaptation of laying hens to the high dose supplementation. Astaxanthin improved superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and diminished malondialdehyde (MDA) content in both liver and serum; meanwhile, the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in serum were similar between the moderate doses and high dose supplementation. Additionally, astaxanthin alleviated interleukin 2, 4, and 6 (IL-2, IL-4, and IL-6, respectively) in serum, showing the best effect in A3 and A4 groups. Besides, immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM), as well as tumor necrosis factor-alpha and beta (TNF-α and TNF-β), were not much affected. It was concluded that although astaxanthin has no obvious adverse effect on the performance and health status of laying hens, it may not be valuable for egg fortification and health status improvement of laying hens at high dose supplementation. The high dose astaxanthin supplementation up to 213.4 mg/kg in the diet might be avoided.

Astaxanthin for the Food Industry

“…Astaxanthin improves superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and diminishes malondialdehyde (MDA) content in both the liver and serum. Additionally, astaxanthin alleviates interleukin 2, 4, and 6 (IL-2, IL-4 and IL-6, respectively) in serum [ 52 ].…”

Astaxanthin as a Potential Antioxidant to Improve Health and Production Performance of Broiler Chicken

“…Furthermore, AST is more polar than other carotenoids, which improves the extent and rate of absorption of being a soluble compound in the fat [ 40 , 41 ]. Thanks to dietary lipids, AST could be dispersed in the digestive tract and dissolved in mixed micelles [ 42 ]. Then, AST is absorbed by the intestinal epithelial cells and directly delivered to the liver as portomicrons and thus incorporated into low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and transported to target tissues by the bloodstream [ 42 ].…”

Haematococcus pluvialis as a Potential Source of Astaxanthin with Diverse Applications in Industrial Sectors: Current Research and Future Directions

“…Aside from its antioxidant capacity, astaxanthin can also be employed as a diet addition in aquaculture to increase growth performance [44,45] and in the broiler business [46,47]. Currently, Xie et al (2020) [45] investigated that administering astaxanthin (75 and 150 mg/kg) in a high fat diet of juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in aquaculture nutrition affects growth performance, lipid metabolism, and immunological response.…”

“…It was performed on Pekin ducks, and the growth performance and meat quality have both improved as the discoloration or yellowish colour of the meat has increased. Dansou et al (2021) [47] recently discovered that even high levels of astaxanthin (213.4 mg/kg) from H. pluvialis in the diet have no negative effect on laying hen process performance. However, supplementing astaxanthin at modest doses (21.3 and 42.6 mg/kg) promotes satisfactory egg fortification and laying hen health.…”