Effects of different dietary copper sources on laying hen performance and egg yolk cholesterol

Effects of dietary copper supplementation on performance, egg quality parameters, yolk cholesterol and fatty acid profiles in laying hens

“…Yolk cholesterol levels decreased with copper supplementation. Though this result agrees with that of several previous studies (Pesti and Bakalli, 1998;Idowu et al, 2005;Balevi and Coşkun, 2004;Chandra et al, 2011), other researchers (Pekel and Alp, 2011;Kaya and Macit, 2012;Jegede et al, 2015) have observed no significant effects of copper supplementation in the basal diet on yolk cholesterol concentration. Kim et al (1992) indicated that reduced glutathione levels caused by the addition of copper may play a major role in cholesterol homeostasis.…”

“…Copper (Cu) is an essential mineral in poultry nutrition and serves as a cofactor in many enzyme systems, including cytochrome oxidase, lysyl oxidase, ceruloplasmin, and superoxide dismutase (Fouad et al 2016) and one of the important trace minerals found in certain plasma proteins that are concerned with release of Fe from cell in the plasma (Kulkarni et al 2012). Because of its antimicrobial activity, growth promotion, and effects on lipid metabolism, copper has been added to poultry diets at rather high concentrations for several decades (Skrivan et al, 2006;Pekel and Alp, 2011). However, the maximum tolerable level of copper in the diet for poultry is 300 mg/kg according to the National Research Council (1994).…”

Quality and mineral composition of eggs from hens supplemented with copper-lysine chelate

“…This may be due to the relatively short time of supplement administration (2 weeks), whereas in the cited work, eggs were collected for analysis after 27 days of supplementation. According to Pekel and Aip (2011), regardless of the source, when the content of copper in the egg increased, its content in the hen's feces was four times higher in comparison to the control group. Similar results were obtained after the use of organic copper forms.…”

“…Thanks to these properties of chelates, the microelements are easily transported and absorbed in the hen's intestines. Additionally, they are more stable and biochemically protected against reactions to other ingredients that may limit their absorption (Paik, 2000).…”

“…It is a cofactor of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme-inhibiting free radical reactions (Wieleba and Pasternak, 2001). In terms of table egg production, copper contributes to an increase in shell strength (Pekel et al, 2011) and the reduction of cholesterol content in yolk (Lim et al, 2006). Copper deficiency may limit egg production and increase the number of eggs with irregular size and shape, resulting in wrinkled, thick and textured shells or even eggs without shells (Baumgartner et al, 1978).…”