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Eggshell powder, a comparable or better source of calcium than purified calcium carbonate: piglet studies
Author(s) -
Schaafsma Anne,
Beelen Gerard M
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199909)79:12<1596::aid-jsfa406>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - eggshell , calcium , calcium carbonate , casein , food science , chemistry , zoology , feces , magnesium , biology , ecology , organic chemistry
Abstract Powdered chicken eggshells might be an interesting and widely available source of calcium. In two studies using piglets we determined the digestibility of calcium from different diets. The first study compared casein‐based diets with CaCO 3 (CasCC) or eggshell powder (CasES). The second study compared soya protein isolate‐based diets with CaCO 3 (SoyCC) or eggshell powder (SoyES). Diets were fed to groups of six piglets. Faeces were collected quantitatively. No adverse effects of eggshell powder were observed with regard to magnesium and crude fat digestibility. Calcium from eggshell powder was more digestible than calcium from purified CaCO 3 . In the first study, digestibility coefficients for calcium were 66.9 (SD 7.9)% for CasCC and 71.3 (SD 3.8)% for CasES. In the second study, these coefficients were 46.7 (SD 8.6)% for SoyCC, and 65.9 (SD 3.7)% for SoyES, a significant difference. Our conclusion is that eggshell powder is, in the case of casein‐based diets, as good a source of calcium as CaCO 3 and, in the case of soya protein‐based diets, better than CaCO 3 for growing piglets. As the piglet model is considered to be representative for humans, chicken eggshell powder is also a promising source of calcium for human nutrition. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry