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Effects of Curcuma longa rhizome powder on egg quality, performance and some physiological indices of laying hens fed different levels of metabolizable energy
Author(s) -
Mirbod Mahsa,
Mahdavi Amir Hossein,
Samie AbdolHossein,
Mehri Mehran
Publication year - 2016
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/jsfa.7862
Subject(s) - yolk , biology , feed conversion ratio , curcuma , food science , zoology , antioxidant , endocrinology , body weight , biochemistry , botany
BACKGROUND High‐energy diets of laying hens may improve roductive performance, although some negative effects may also appear with respect to egg quality and physiological parameters. Curcuma longa rhizome powder ( CRP ) has beneficial effects on health indices of the birds through antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, especially when the birds experience nutritional stress. RESULTS Increasing dietary CRP enhanced egg quality by improving eggshell thickness and hardness but decreasing yolk cholesterol content ( P < 0.05). The best feed conversion ratio was obtained in birds fed high‐apparent metabolizable energy ( AME ) diets supplemented with 2.0 g kg −1 CRP ( P < 0.05). Although increasing dietary AME elevated the serum concentration of triglycerides ( P < 0.05) and enzymatic activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase ( P < 0.05), dietary inclusion of CRP alleviates the blood levels of these enzymes ( P < 0.01). Low level of dietary CRP boosted the immune responses to Newcastle virus ( P < 0.01) and sheep red blood cells ( P < 0.05) antigens but decreased the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio ( P < 0.05). Inclusion of at least 2.0 g kg −1 CRP in the diet of laying decreased Escherichia coli enumerations in the ileal content ( P < 0.01) and improved villus height, crypt depth and goblet cell numbers ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION An improvement in the productive performance of laying hens fed high‐energy diets might be associated with decreasing health indices and product quality, which could potentially be amended by nutritional modifications such as incorporating medicinal herbs in the feed. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry