Feeding laying hens a diet containing high-oleic peanuts or oleic acid enriches yolk color and beta-carotene while reducing the saturated fatty acid content in eggs

Authors: Toomer, Ondulla; Vu, Thien; Sanders, Elliot; Redhead, Adam; MALHEIROS, RAMON - North Carolina State University; ANDERSON, KENNETH - North Carolina State University

Submitted to: Agriculture Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2021
Publication Date: 8/12/2021
Citation: Toomer, O.T., Vu, T.C., Sanders, E.A., Redhead, A.K., Malheiros, R., Anderson, K.E. 2021. Feeding laying hens a diet containing high-oleic peanuts or oleic acid enriches yolk color and beta-carotene while reducing the saturated fatty acid content in eggs. Agriculture Journal. 11:771. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11080771.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11080771

Interpretive Summary: Previous feeding studies conducted at the University of Georgia-Athens determined that peanut meal prepared from normal-oleic as a suitable poultry feed ingredient. However, no studies to date have examined the use of whole unblanched high-oleic peanut cultivars as a feed ingredient for egg-producing layer hens and determined the impact on the nutritive qualities and sensory attributes of the eggs produced. We demonstrated that shell eggs produced from laying hens fed a diet of whole high-oleic peanuts with the skin intact and from laying hens fed a diet supplemented with monounsaturated fatty acid oil had superior nutritive attributes (2 to 3 fold greater levels of ß-carotene a vitamin A precursor, heart healthy total oleic fatty acid, and yolk color intensity) and similar sensory attributes to shell eggs produced from traditionally fed (soybean meal) layer hens. Thus, the potential benefits of this project could have positive economic impact on the peanut and poultry egg producing industries within the Southeastern US.

Technical Abstract: We investigated the dietary effects of high-oleic peanuts (HOPN) or oleic fatty acids (OA) on older production hen performance, egg mass and quality, and lipid composition. A total of 99 laying hens were divided between three treatments and fed ad libitum for 8 weeks: (1) Conventional diet; (2) HOPN diet; (3) OA diet. Body weight (BW) was measured at weeks 1 and 8, and feed, egg weights (EW), and egg quality parameters were collected. Data was analyzed by analysis of variance at p < 0.05 significance level. There were no treatment differences in 8 week BW, feed conversion ratio, or average weekly egg quality parameters. The 8 week average EW of eggs from the HOPN group had reduced EW relative to the other treatment groups (p = 0.0004). The 8-week average yolk color score (p < 0.0001) was greater in eggs from the HOPN group relative to the other treatments. Overall, the beta-carotene (p < 0.006) and OA content (p < 0.0001) was greater in eggs from the HOPN group, with reduced saturated fats in eggs from the HOPN group relative to the other treatments. These results suggest that HOPN and/or OA may be a useful layer feed ingredient to enrich eggs, while significantly reducing egg size in older production hens.