Effect of Linseed Oil Supplementation on Egg White Quality, Yolk Index and Economics of Feeding Linseed Oil to Laying Hens

Introduction Egg is a biological structure intended by nature for reproduction. It protects and provides complete diets for the developing embryo and serves as the principal source of food for the first few days of the chick’s life. Lipids are an important component of feeds not only for their high content of energy but also for the content of essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and protein. Oil plants and some legumes can serve as a source of oils to be used for supplementation of diets for poultry. Currently, flax (Linum usitatissimum) is a very intensively studied plant. Similar to other plant oils, linseed oil also contains linoleic acid, which is an essential fatty acid required by the body. It is A study was carried out to find out the effect of supplementing different levels of linseed oil in the laying hens’ diet on egg white quality, yolk index and economics of feeding, during a period of 16 weeks. One hundred forty White Leghorn layers were randomly allocated into seven experimental groups having 5 replications of 4 birds in each and sited in individual cages from 22 to 38 weeks of age. The laying hens of control group (T1) were fed a basal diet formulated as per BIS (2007) standards. The layers of treatment groups T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 and T7 were fed basal diet supplemented with linseed oil at levels of 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4%, respectively. The results of the study depicted that the result findings depicted that with respect to the whole period there was no significant increase in the yolk index percent by inclusion of different levels of linseed oil in either of the dietary treatments in the basal ration of hens. Albumin index values were significantly (P<0.05) higher in hens of treatment group T4 (2.5% Linseed oil), T5 (3% linseed oil), T6 (3.5% linseed oil) and T7 (4% linseed oil) as compared to the control and other lower dietary supplemental (T2 and T3) treatment groups. Whereas, no significant difference was observed among T1, T2 and T3. Haugh unit’s result reveal that during the whole period of experiment, hens in treatment groups T4 and T7 show significant (P<0.05) difference as compared to the control T2, and T5 experimental groups. Feed cost value for per kg egg mass production decrease in treatment groups T4 (2.5% linseed oil), with a reduction in cost per kg of egg mass production for Rs. 5.17 in treatment groups T4 (2.5% linseed oil) in comparison to T1 (non-supplemented maize based control diet). Thus we can conclude from this study that linseed oil supplementation significantly increase albumin index and Haugh unit but decrease in feed cost per kg egg mass production no effect on yolk index. However no significant results were found in case of yolk index. K e y w o r d s Linseed oil supplementation, Egg white. Accepted: 30 October 2017 Available Online: 10 November 2017 Article Info International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 11 (2017) pp. 4282-4290 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com Int.J.Curr.Microbiol. App.Sci (2017) 6(11): 4282-4290 4283 also rich in α-linolenic acid that belongs to the group of n-3 fatty acids. The composition of fatty acids in egg depends on that of the feed, always reflecting the content of fatty acids that predominate in the respective oil plant (in oil). Diet can affect the ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the egg yolk. Diet supplemented with linseed oil particularly affects the concentrations of α-linolenic acid (Beynen, 2004), oleic acid, n-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (Celebi and Macit, 2009). Linseed oil was found to increase the content of n-3 fatty acids. However, some studies have shown that linseed oil leads to an increase in the concentration of α-linolenic acid, which is associated with the decreasing content of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. Due to flax oil supplementation of diet for layers particular type of oil could be included as supplement to feeding mixtures for layers in order to support the development of functional foodstuffs. Cholesterol in eggs decreases. As the concentration of n-3 fatty acids is elevated, eggs may be viewed as functional foodstuff. Some researchers reported that n-3 polyunsaturated acids reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The intake of these acids can help prevent breast cancer. These acids are also important for healthy development of the brain and immune system function. It has been reported that the external and internal quality traits of the eggs in hens had significant effects on the hatchability of incubated and fertile eggs, and weight and development of the laying chicks. In the egg processing enterprises, the weight of eggshell, albumen and the yolk that form the egg as well as their rates affect the amount and price of the product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of different levels of linseed oil on egg white quality, yolk index and economics of feeding linseed oil to laying hens. Materials and Methods A total of one hundred and forty single comb White Leghorn hens of commercial strain, 2223 weeks of age, in the first phase of their production cycle with an average weight of 1737 ± 44.28 g were randomly divided in to seven treatment groups, having five replications with four birds in each replication. The laying hens of control group (T1) were fed a basal diet formulated as per BIS (2007) standards, its ingredient and composition has been given in Table 1. The layers of treatment groups T2, T3, T4, T5, T6 and T7 were fed basal diet supplemented with linseed oil at levels of 1%, 2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5% and 4%, respectively. Hens were fed the experimental diet for sixteen weeks of experimental period beginning at 22 weeks of age and continued up to 38 weeks of age. The hens were offered feed and water ad libtum through linear feeder and waterers. Chemical composition (%DM basis) and metabolizable energy (Kcal/Kg) of feed ingredients used in formulating the experimental diets and Composition and mixing rate of feed additives/ supplements and has been given in Table 2 and 3 respectively. The data were analyzed using completely randomized design (Snedecor and Cochran, 1994). Analysis of feed ingredients Feed ingredients used in the diet formulations were analyzed for the proximate nutrients (AOAC, 2007). The chemical composition of different feed ingredients is presented in Table 2.