Fatty acid profile of eggs of semi-heavy layers fed feeds containing linseed oil

• Main Authors: JG Souza, FGP Costa, RCRE Queiroga, JHV Silva, ARP Schuler, CC Goulart
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fundação APINCO de Ciência e Tecnologia Avícolas 2008-03-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science
• Subjects: Egg; enrichment; fatty acids
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2008000100006
• ISSN: 1516-635X; 1806-9061

The incorporation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in chicken eggs by adding oils to the diets has been extensively studied. This experiment aimed at evaluating possible changes in the fatty acid profile of the eggs of layers fed diets supplemented with linseed and soybean oils. The experiment was performed using 192 29 week-old laying hens, distributed in a completely randomized design, into six treatments with four replicates of eight birds each. Treatments consisted of a control diet (no vegetable oil) and diets including 2% of vegetable oil. Linseed oil replaced 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% soybean oil in the diets, corresponding to 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0% of linseed oil in the diet. A pool of two egg yolks from each treatment was submitted to lipid extraction and fatty acid methylation, and subsequent gas chromatography (GC) analysis to detect seven fatty acids. Saturated (myristic and palmitic) fatty acids concentration was affected by lipid dietary source, with the lowest concentration in birds were fed feeds containing linseed oil. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) concentration in the eggs was influenced by different levels of linseed oil inclusion. Linoleic acid egg content increased when linseed oil was used on diet as compared to the control diet. Linseed oil was considered an excellent source of linolenic acid incorporation in the eggs.