177 Effect of dietary feed additives in laying chicken on egg production, nutrient content, yolk cholesterol, and egg quality traits

Abstract The most fascinating idea in human nutrition is that selected foods and their components can improve physical or mental performance. Many consumers desire somewhat distinct products concerning safety, healthfulness, freshness, taste, color, etc. Eggs can also be functional through dietary manipulation of herbs or plants that have functional and therapeutic properties. The alteration in the fat diet of poultry can change the lipid content, i.e. cholesterol of eggs. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the feeding effect of M. oleifera leaf (Moringa) meal, S. platensis (Algae), Linum usitatissimum (Flaxseed) and Trigonella foenum-graecum (Fenugreek) on their egg quality traits, nutrient content, shelf life, and cholesterol content of egg yolk. A total of 180 laying chickens were considered for this study, having 6 treatments and 5 replications with 6 layers in each. The trial was continued for 16 weeks, from 30 weeks to 46 weeks at BLRI Regional Station Godagari, Rajshahi. At the end of the experiment, eggs from different dietary treatments were collected for their qualitative analysis, nutrient content, shelf life, and yolk. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 version. The shelf life of eggs after 14 days of preservation has increased significantly (p< 0.05) after the addition of fenugreek and the combination of all 4 additives in treatment 6. The cholesterol content in egg yolk was significantly (p< 0.05) influenced by the addition of moringa and algae. The cholesterol was determined by GC-8890, Agilent Technology, USA using our developed validated method. The cholesterol was determined by GC-8890, Agilent Technology, USA using our developed validated method. This cholesterol value is very important for the health concern consumers, although daily consumption of an egg has no any bad effect that can be revealed. The value of ether extract in yolk and crude protein in albumen has numerically increased in treatment 6 compared to control. Considering all the above parameters, it can be concluded that the addition of Moringa and Algae (1.50%) to the diet can potentially modulate yolk cholesterol, quality, shell thickness, and shelf-life enhancement.