ABSTRACT
The 4-week study was conducted with 180 Lohmann Brown layers (52 weeks of age). The layers were assigned to three groups (C, E1 and E2). The basal diet (group C) consisted mainly of corn, soybean meal and corn gluten, and contained 19% crude protein and 11.58 MJ/kg metabolizable energy. The diets for groups E1 and E2 differed from group C by the inclusion of 5% flax meal and of dietary antioxidants. The concentration of α-linolenic acid in the fat of E1 and E2 diets was almost 10 times higher than in group C. E1 diet was supplemented with vitamin E (100 mg/kg feed, DM), while E2 diet was supplemented with 2% grape seed meal (polyphenols: 630.890 µg gallic acid equivalents/g sample; flavonoids: 5.065 µg rutin equivalents/g sample; antioxidant capacity: 28.468 mM trolox equivalents/g sample). The antioxidant capacity of E2 was higher than in C, but lower than in E1. Haugh units of the eggs (18 eggs/group) harvested during the last experimental week were not significantly different among groups. The ω-6/ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) ratio in the fat from the eggs was 4.46 ± 0.11 (E1) and 4.52 ± 0.21 (E2), three times lower (p<0.05) than the control group (14.70 ± 0.43). In group E1 in particular, but also in group E2, the concentration of total polyphenols in the egg yolk was higher (p<0.05) than in group C.
Keywords:
Eggs; PUFAs; antioxidants; grape seed meal; quality
