hrvatski

Carotenoid deposition efficiency in egg yolks of laying hens fed diets differing in maize hybrid

Yellow maize is the only component of the hen diet with significant carotenoid content, and its ability to pigment the egg yolk varies among hybrids. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of carotenoid deposition in the yolk of hens fed diets differing in 15 maize hybrids from six seed companies. By three in each cage, 225 Lohmann Brown hens were allocated to 15 dietary treatments in a completely randomised design (15 treatments×5 cages). The experiment lasted 12 weeks, and eggs for analysis were collected once a week for five weeks after stabilising total carotenoid (TC) content. The carotenoid profile of diets and yolks was determined using HPLC method, and the deposition efficiency of individual and total carotenoids was calculated as the ratio between carotenoid production in the yolk and carotenoid consumption by the diet. Dietary treatments varied in carotenoid profile in both diets and yolks (P < 0.001), resulting in TC content from 10.50 to 24.31 μg/g DM and 20.40 to 43.03 μg/g, respectively. The deposition efficiency of lutein and zeaxanthin was higher than that of α- and β- cryptoxanthin and β-carotene in all dietary treatments (average 24.97 vs. 9.17%). Dietary treatments differed in the deposition efficiency of lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene, and TC (P < 0.001), which ranged from 18.72 to 25.58%. The obtained results suggest that some hybrids are more efficient in depositing carotenoids into the yolk and therefore are more suitable for hen nutrition.

maize hybrid ; carotenoids ; deposition efficiency ; laying hen ; egg yolk

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