Production, egg quality, and intestinal morphometry of laying hens fed marine microalga

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate production and egg quality as well as the intestinal morphometry of laying hens fed diets supplemented with marine microalga Dunaliella salina. Six hundred laying hens were allocated based on a completely randomized design into five treatments (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1% inclusion of D. salina biomass) with 12 replicates of 10 hens per treatment. The experiment was divided into three periods of four weeks each, totaling 84 days. During this period, the productive performance of laying hens, the physical-chemical quality of the eggs, and the morphometric alterations of the small intestine and liver were determined. The inclusion levels of D. salina biomass had a linear effect on the performance (egg weight, egg mass, and feed conversion), qualitative parameters (yolk weight and yolk index), and physicochemical parameters of eggs (total carotenoids, TBARS, and yolk color). At the same time, villi lengths and the villus:crypt ratio of the duodenum and ileum segments and the metabolization of carotenoids in the liver were increased as an effect of Dunaliella salina dietary supplementation. Thus, the inclusion of marine microalgae D. salina biomass in experimental diets for laying hens improves the performance, the intestinal health, the physical-chemical quality of the eggs, and at the same time increases carotenoid content and improves egg oxidative stability.

Dietary supplementation with a mixture of Dunaliella salina and Spirulina enhances broiler performance by improving growth, immunity, digestive enzymes and gut microbiota

“…In the current study, dietary D. salina supplementation did not affect FI at all phases. These findings are in line with Fernandes et al (2020) , who stated that there was no significant difference for FI. In addition, FI did not differ significantly in broiler chicks fed a diet supplemented with algae extracts ( Alvarenga et al, 2011 ).…”

“… Abdelwahab et al (2020) indicated that the substitution of fish meal with a low level of D. salina (33.0%) produced similar findings as the control diet with respect to BWG and FCR. Fernandes et al (2020) reported that D. salina has favorable bioactive concentrations of constituents, which may be used in poultry feed. Types present in seaweed are a good source of essential amino acids, such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, arginine, minerals, carbohydrates, and being rich in vitamins and β -carotene ( Abouelezz, 2017 ; Abd El-Hack et al, 2019 ; Hajati et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The addition of D. salina to the diets of laying hens improved villi length and ileum, the villus/crypt ratio, and duodenum parts. It also increased the liver metabolization of carotenoids ( Fernandes et al, 2020 ). The increased BW may be due to the nutritional contents of D. salina, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids that contribute to basal metabolic needs and growth ( Pratiwi, 2020 ; Mawed et al, 2022 ).…”

Performance, carcass quality, and intestinal biometry of European quail fed on kelp meal (Sargassum sp)

“…Seaweed species such as Sargassum spp, Gracilaria sp, and Spirulina platensis present a good source of minerals, carbohydrates, and essential amino acids, such as arginine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine, being rich in beta-carotene and vitamins (Marín et al, 2009;Abouelezz, 2017;Ekýzoðlu et al, 2020;Hajati et al, 2020; ) and these algae and others of the same genus, when used in bird feeding, promote growth and increase in intestinal ora (Fernandes et al, 2020;Hajati & Zaghari, 2020;Rajesh & Pravin, 2021), with positive results in posture, improving animal performance and feed and water consumption (Melo et al, 2008aand 2008b, Carlos et al, 2011.…”

Performance and egg quality of Japanese quail fed diets containing microalgae Schizochytrium sp.

“…According to Fernandes et al (2020), although microalgae have desirable levels of bioactive compounds that can be used in the nutrition of laying hens, the patterns of deposition and egg enrichment may not be proportional to the inclusion level or period of dietary supplementation. So, it is necessary to develop research that can fill these gaps.…”