Effects of duration and supplementation dose with astaxanthin on egg fortification

Abstract

Long-term and graded dose of astaxanthin supplementation in laying hen's diet was assessed for egg fortification. Five groups of laying hens with 8 replications each were fed for 24 wk with diet supplemented astaxanthin at 0 mg/kg (control), 7.1 mg/kg, 14.2 mg/kg, 21.3 mg/kg, and 42.6 mg/kg ( Basal, A7, A14, A21, and A42, respectively). The performance of laying hens, egg quality, astaxanthin concentration as well as conversion efficiency and geometric isomers proportion in yolks were assessed on wk 8 and 24. One-way analysis of variance ( ANOVA ) and linear and quadratic regression analyses were used to evaluate the dose effect. In parallel, the Student's t test compared the values between wk 8 and wk 24 of test within a group. Overall, the results revealed that neither production performance nor egg physical quality was affected by astaxanthin dose level and feeding duration. Following the supplementation dose, the redness of yolks ( a* ) increased ( P < 0.001). But, the a* score in A42 (23.48) was just 3-folds the a* score in A7 (8.89). Concentration of astaxanthin in eggs was dose-level dependent showing a linear relationship ( P < 0.001) with a slight declination observed in all groups on wk 24 compared to wk 8. The deposition rate of astaxanthin into egg yolk was higher in A21 and A42. The proportion of geometric isomers in egg yolk were not affected by the feeding duration. As the supplementation dose increased, all-trans isomer proportion gradually decreased in the egg yolk, while 13-cis isomer proportion rose. It was concluded that astaxanthin is an efficient carotenoid for egg fortification, which can be supplemented in diet up to 42.6 mg/kg for 24 wk without compromising the performance of laying hens or physical quality of eggs. This appreciably affects the egg yolk color and confers a better accumulation of total astaxanthin and cis isomers into eggs as the supplementation dose increases.

Sources, dynamics in vivo, and application of astaxanthin and lutein in laying hens: A review

“…(2012) found in an 8-wk trial that color changed after Ax addition, peaked after 8 days of feeding, and stabilized over time. This may explain the similarity between the data at weeks 8 and 24, and the minimal change in yolk color with feeding duration ( Dansou et al., 2021 ).…”

“…(2020) H. pluvialis 10/20/40/80 Shaver Leghorn 19 6 + 18.4/17.7/30.1/31.1 Magnuson et al. (2018) H. pluvialis 21.3/42.6 Hy-line Brown 20 12 + 9.85/23.5 Dansou et al. (2021) H. pluvialis 10/20/30 Hy-Line W36 23 12 + 19.9/18.4/15.4 Shevchenko et al.…”

“…Besides the yolk color, adding lutein or Ax to the diet of laying hens can generate significantly beneficial effects on antioxidative status, anti-inflammation, and immunity, all of which are desirable for both consumers and producers ( Shevchenko et al., 2020 ). Astaxanthin supplementation in the laying hen's diet appreciably affected the egg yolk color and conferred a better accumulation of total Ax and cis-isomers into eggs as the supplementation dose increased ( Dansou et al., 2021 ).…”

Dietary supplementation with astaxanthin alleviates ovarian aging in aged laying hens by enhancing antioxidant capacity and increasing reproductive hormones

“…We weighed the egg yolk and calculated the percentage of egg yolk. We used an HPLC (liquid chromatography LC-20A Shimadzu Corp., Kyoto Japan) to measure the concentration of astaxanthin ( Dansou et al, 2021a ).…”

Diseño de huevos enriquecidos con astaxantina y hierro para reducir anemia infantil en la región Ica

“…En el huevo común proveniente de gallinas que no han consumido dietas con estas fuentes no se encuentra la astaxantina. Los avances en la investigación nutricional que últimamente conducen al enfoque de "huevos de diseño" permiten un mayor enriquecimiento del huevo con los nutrientes deseados, incluidos los carotenoides, al actuar sobre la formulación de la dieta de una ponedora (7), esta estrategia permitirá obtener huevos fortificados con el caroteonide astaxantina para disponibilidad de los consumidores y aumenten su consumo de carotenoides.…”