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. 2021 Mar 31;11(4):975.
doi: 10.3390/ani11040975.

Egg Quality Parameters, Production Performance and Immunity of Laying Hens Supplemented with Plant Extracts

Muhammad Ammar Dilawar  1   2 , Hong Seok Mun  2 , Dhanushka Rathnayake  2 , Eun Ju Yang  3 , Ye Seul Seo  3 , Hyeoung Seog Park  4 , Chul Ju Yang  1   2
Affiliations

Egg Quality Parameters, Production Performance and Immunity of Laying Hens Supplemented with Plant Extracts

Muhammad Ammar Dilawar et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

This study examined the effects of Mentha arvensis (MA) and Geranium thunbergii (GT) extracts in drinking water on the production performance, egg quality, cholesterol content of egg yolk, proximate composition, and sensory qualities of egg and immunity parameters in laying hens. Ninety-six 28-week-old Hy-Line Brown layers were randomly divided into four dietary treatments for 16 weeks. The dietary treatments were (1) control, (2) T1 (0.01% 1 MA:1 GT), (3) T2 (0.05% 1 MA:1 GT), and (4) T3 (0.1% 1 MA:1 GT). Egg production increased significantly with increasing levels of MA and GT. The egg weight was increased in T2, and the feed intake was highest in T2 and T3 (p < 0.05). The Haugh unit and egg shape index were significantly better in T3 and the control than with other treatments (p < 0.05). The content of yolk cholesterol was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in T2 and T3. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the egg proximate composition. A significant increase in the serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and immunoglobulins (IgG and IgA) concentration was observed in the birds fed plant extracts when compared to the control. On average, T2 and T3 showed significantly lower (p < 0.05) concentrations of NH3 gas from the feces as compared to the control. This study suggests that MA and GT supplementation could improve the laying performance, egg quality, and immunity, and decrease the egg yolk cholesterol content in a dose-dependent manner.

Keywords: egg production; egg quality; laying hens; yolk cholesterol.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of Mentha arvensis (MA) and Geranium thunbergii (GT) on immunity parameters. (a) Concentration of serum (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα); (b) Concentration of serum immunoglobulins IgA and IgG. a,b,c Bars within a particular point not sharing a common letter differ significantly (p < 0.05). n = Each value represents the mean of 6 replications with 3 birds per replicate.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of Mentha arvensis (MA) and Geranium thunbergii (GT) on concentration of NH3 emission from excreta. a,b,c Bars within a particular point not sharing a common letter differ significantly (p < 0.05). n = Each value represents the mean of six replications with four birds per replicate.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of Mentha arvensis (MA) and Geranium thunbergii (GT) on the pH of excreta. a,b,c Bars within a particular point not sharing a common letter differ significantly (p < 0.05). n = Each value represents the mean of 6 replications with 4 birds per replicate.
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