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Comparative Pigmentation Efficiency of High Dietary Levels of Apo-Ester and Marigold Extract on Quality Traits of Whole Liquid Egg of Two Strains of Laying Hens

F. Sirri^*,1, N. Iaffaldano, G. Minelli^*, A. Meluzzi^*, M. P. Rosato and A. Franchini^*

^* Department of Food Science, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; and Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Science, University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy

¹ Corresponding author: fsirri{at}disa.unibo.it

This trial was carried out to compare the effect of the dietary supplementation of high doses of either synthetic pigment ethyl ester of ß-apo-8'-carotenoic acid (apo-ester) or natural pigments, mainly lutein and zeaxanthin, extracted from Tagetes erecta, on egg quality of hens laying brown shell eggs (ISA Brown) and white shell eggs (Hy-Line White W-36). The hens of each strain were divided into 6 groups and fed a corn-soybean basal diet supplemented either with 40, 60, and 80 ppm of apo-ester (APO) or with 120, 180, and 240 ppm of marigold extract (MAR). Egg pigmentation rose linearly and significantly (P < 0.01) as the dietary levels of apo-ester increased, but this did not occur when MAR supplementation was used. The amount of ß-carotene equivalents in whole liquid egg of MAR treatments was almost constant with varying pigment dietary dose and was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than in APO treatments. In both hen strains, whole liquid egg redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) were higher with APO supplementation. The egg component weights were highly affected (P < 0.01) by the hen strain, with yolk:egg ratio higher in the Hy-Line. The trial confirms that in spite of the higher level of MAR supplementation, APO has a better efficiency in whole liquid egg pigmentation. The ISA Brown hens showed a better ability to absorb dietary carotenoids than did the Hy-Line White.

Key Words: apo-ester • marigold extract • egg quality • whole liquid egg • color • laying hen strain