Effects of supplementing microalgae in laying hen diets on productive performance, fatty-acid profile, and oxidative stability of eggs

The purpose of this trial was to investigate the effects of adding graded levels of dehydrated, whole-cell microalgae (All-G-Rich (TM), Alltech Inc.) in layer diets on the performance, egg and shell quality, yolk color, oxidative stability, and fatty-acid concentration of eggs. Six replicate groups of 5 Hy-LineW-36 laying hens were assigned to each of 4 dietary treatments. Treatments consisted of feeding a corn-soybean meal control diet alone or supplemented with 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0% All-G-Rich (TM) during a 32-wk production period. Fatty-acid content of egg yolk was analyzed after feeding the experimental diets for 4 wk. The docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content in egg yolk was linearly increased (P < 0.01) with increasing levels of algae in the diet. There was no effect of dietary treatments on production performance of layers in the entire trial period. Egg weight and eggshell quality were not affected by dietary treatments. Supplements of 2 or 3% All-G-Rich (TM) significantly increased redness (a*) and decreased lightness (L) of egg yolk. Yolk fatty-acid oxidation, as measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), was not affected by treatments in eggs stored up to 30 d at 4 degrees C. Based on these data, adding All-G-Rich (TM) in layer diets can produce DHA-enriched eggs with no negative impact on egg quality.