Effect of Allium Extract Supplementation on Egg Quality, Productivity, and Intestinal Microbiota of Laying Hens

Abstract

The use of allium extract containing propyl propane thiosulfonate (PTSO) as hen feed supplement was evaluated to demonstrate its positive effect on egg production and intestinal microbiota modulation. The study was carried out on 90 laying hens whose feed was supplemented with allium extract for 28 days. Nutritional properties of eggs were not affected, whereas an improvement in productivity was observed based on the increase weight of eggs. In addition, a modulator effect on intestinal microbiota was confirmed by the increase in Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., as well as by the reduction in Enterobacteriaceae populations. Finally, the preservation of egg composition was checked by monitoring the content of PTSO, using a new analytical method consisting of the use of solid phase extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Consequently, based on current results, Allium spp. extract rich in organosulfur compounds such as PTSO added to the diet had a beneficial effect on the microbiota and would seem to be a possible alternative to increase productivity, while not affecting the biochemical composition of egg. However, further studies on the effects of allium extract as feed supplement are necessary.

Allium-Based Phytobiotic Enhances Egg Production in Laying Hens through Microbial Composition Changes in Ileum and Cecum

“…Our results show that the relative abundance of Lactococcus in the ileum and Lactobacillus in the cecum increased significantly in laying hens supplemented with PTS and PTSO, while egg production improved. A recent paper based in culture-dependent techniques showed similar increase in egg production and fecal Lactobacillus counts in laying hens, supplemented with even lower doses of PTSO than the present work [44]. The increase in relative and absolute bacterial abundances of both Lactococcus and Lactobacillus produce beneficial effects in poultry and farm animals [80].…”

“…In this manuscript, we hypothesize that the supplementation of Allium compounds in the diet of laying hens will affect bacterial community composition as well as egg production. We predict that a commercial Alliaceae extract supplemented in the diet of laying hens, similar to that used by Abad et al [44] and based on PTS and PTSO, produces beneficial shifts in the gut microbiota and increase productive parameters, i.e., the number of laid eggs and their weights.…”

“…Previous works showed that experimental supplementation of garlic in the diet did not result in an increase in egg production [39][40][41][42], or even in decrease in egg productivity [43]. However, in a recent paper, Abad et al [44] showed that a commercial Allium compound has positive effects on egg production. These differences in productivity effects due to Allium additives may be due to dose, duration of feeding or processing techniques [45].…”

Beneficial Effects of Organosulfur Compounds from Allium cepa on Gut Health: A Systematic Review

“…Two extra articles not identified by the electronic databases were added as the authors were aware of their existence. Finally, as shown in Figure 3, a total of 17 articles [62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78] were found to be eligible for the present systematic review following the full-text eligibility assessment. The characteristics of the selected articles are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…Six articles of this systematic review dealt with trials conducted in birds. A total of four of them were carried out with broiler chickens [70][71][72][73] and two with laying hens [74,76]. In all cases, it was observed an increase of certain beneficial bacteria and a decrease of harmful bacteria populations in the guts of the evaluated animals.…”