Effect of Natural and Chemical Colorant Supplementation on Performance, Egg-Quality Characteristics, Yolk Fatty-Acid Profile, and Blood Constituents in Laying Hens

Ahmed A. Saleh, Esraa Gawish, Samy F. Mahmoud, Khairy Amber, Wael Awad, Mohammed H. Alzawqari, Mustafa Shukry and Abdel-Moneim Eid Abdel-Moneim
Additional contact information
Ahmed A. Saleh: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 333516, Egypt
Esraa Gawish: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 333516, Egypt
Samy F. Mahmoud: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Khairy Amber: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 333516, Egypt
Wael Awad: Animals Production Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Cairo 11470, Egypt
Mohammed H. Alzawqari: Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 333516, Egypt
Mustafa Shukry: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 333516, Egypt
Abdel-Moneim Eid Abdel-Moneim: Biological Application Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Abu-Zaabal 13759, Egypt

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Natural and chemical colorants are attracting a lot of attention as sustainable feed additives due to their effect on food color and because presentation matters to consumers. Color also is a major sensory factor that helps consumers determine food quality and its possible health benefits. For example, highly colored egg yolks can only come from healthy laying hens fed a well-balanced, nutrient-rich diet. Consumers associate an intense yolk color with healthy, nutrient-rich food. There is a growing market request for eggs with rich yolk coloring. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of natural (paprika) and chemical (carmoisine) colorant supplementation on the performance, egg-quality characteristics, yolk fatty-acid profile, and blood constituents in laying hens. A total of 240 Bovans laying hens were randomly distributed in a completely randomized design in four treatments according to four experimental diets: a control diet (without supplementation of any colorants), a control diet supplemented with 4 kg/ton paprika, a control diet supplemented with 150 g carmoisine/ton, and a control diet supplemented with a combination of 4 kg/ton paprika plus 150 g carmoisine/ton, fed from 42 to 54 weeks of age. Each treatment consisted of 10 replications with six hens. Dietary inclusion of paprika colorant improved ( p < 0.05) the feed-conversion ratio and egg-production rate, while final body weight, weight change, feed intake, and egg weight and mass were not affected. The degrees of egg yolk and white were increased ( p < 0.05) by the dietary supplements. Yolk color and shell thickness were enhanced ( p < 0.05) by adding paprika and/or carmoisine colorants. Supplementation of the paprika colorant alone or in combination with carmoisine increased ( p < 0.05) linolenic acid, oleic acid, and vitamin E concentrations in egg yolks. In contrast, egg yolk palmitic acid and liver malondialdehyde contents were decreased ( p < 0.05). Paprika and carmoisine colorants and their combination improved ( p < 0.05) blood lipid profile in treated hens. We concluded that the dietary supplementation of natural (paprika) colorants has an influential role in improving egg yolk color, production performance, and egg yolk fatty-acid profile in laying hens.

Keywords: natural colorants; egg quality; yolk color; fatty acids; laying hens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4503/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4503/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4503-:d:538418

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().