Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Fermented Pine Needle Extract on Productive Performance, Egg Quality, and Serum Lipid Parameters in Laying Hens

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the supplemental effects of fermented pine (Pinus densiflora) needle extract (FPNE) in laying hen diets on productive performance, egg quality, and serum lipid metabolites. A total of 108 40-week-old Hy-line brown laying hens were randomly assigned to one of the three dietary treatment groups: (1) basal diet + 0 mL FPNE/kg diet (CON), (2) basal diet + 2.5 mL FPNE/kg diet (T1), or (3) basal diet + 5 mL FPNE/kg diet (T2) for 6 weeks. Each group consisted of four replicates of nine hens each. Feed and water provided ad libitum. Results showed that dietary supplementation of FPNE increased egg production percentage (linear, p < 0.01 and quadratic, p < 0.05), egg mass (linear, p < 0.05), and feed intake (linear, p < 0.05) during the entire experimental period. In addition, dietary inclusion of FPNE significantly increased the eggshell color (linear, p < 0.01), egg yolk color (quadratic, p < 0.01), and eggshell breaking strength (linear, p < 0.05 and quadratic, p < 0.05) while the Haugh unit decreased (quadratic, p < 0.05). However, serum lipid profile did not differ among the dietary treatments (p > 0.05). Notably, antioxidant activity of egg yolk was improved by significantly decreasing the malondialdehyde content in egg yolks after 6 weeks of storage (linear, p < 0.001 and quadratic, p < 0.05). In summary, dietary inclusion of FPNE could improve laying performance and the antioxidant capacity of eggs.

Pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) Needle Extract Supplementation Improves Performance, Egg Quality, Serum Parameters, and the Gut Microbiome in Laying Hens

“…Similarly, Kim et al illustrated that broilers-fed 2.0% simple processed pine needle powder exhibited decreased overall body weight, average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and improved ileal protein digestibility compared with those of broilers-fed diets containing 0, 0.5, and 1.0% pine needle powder ( 13 ). Consistent with our results, Kothari et al showed that adding 2.5 and 5 mg/kg fermented PNE increased egg mass and egg production ( 17 ). In this study, dietary supplementation of 100 mg/kg PNE to a corn-soybean meal-based diet improved both the FCR and egg mass of laying hens compared with those of the other groups during the trial period.…”

“…Khan et al reported that supplementation of 150 mg/kg PNE ameliorated the antioxidant status in quails by enhancing the activities of serum antioxidant enzymes, including GSH-Px and T-SOD ( 16 ), which was consistent with our results. Kothari et al demonstrated that 2.5 and 5 mg/kg fermented PNE improved the antioxidant status in broiler yolks ( 17 ), possibly because pine needles contain an abundance of active components, such as essential oils ( 30 ), proanthocyanidins ( 31 ), phenolics, and terpenoids ( 9 ), which are reported to have antioxidant abilities.…”

Dietary supplementation with fermented plant product modulates production performance, egg quality, intestinal mucosal barrier, and cecal microbiota in laying hens

“…Fermented Astragalus used as an efficient dietary additive could significantly promote the production performance of laying hens during the late laying period (Shi et al, 2020). A recent study demonstrated that the dietary supplementation of fermented pine needle extract (FPNE) significantly improved egg production percentage and egg mass (Kothari et al, 2021). Notably, these reports also indicated that dietary supplementation with plant fermentation products affected FCR and (or) eggshell strength, but these results have not been found in our current study.…”

Productive Performance, Egg Quality and Composition in Local Laying Hens Fed Diets Including Either Desmodium tortuosum Leaf Flour or Hevea brasiliensis Seed Meal.

“…In this study we used local laying hens and found the laying rate was low compared with the performance of Bovans brown hens in Egypt [20], Hyline breed in China [21,22] and in Korea [23] but higher than the production of 28-week-old local laying hens in Indonesia [24] and also higher than the production of 42-week-old local laying hens in Bangladesh [25]. The diet W presented a higher laying rate and a lower feed to egg ratio than diet Y.…”