Antioxidant effect of phytogenic additives and vitamin e on the health, immunocompetence, production performance, quality and shelf life of eggs of laying hens

Abstract

An experiment lasting 112 days will be performed to evaluate the antioxidant effect of levels of curcumin and vitamin E supplement, added to the hens' diet, on the immunocompetence, health, performance, quality, and shelf life of eggs of laying hens at the laying peak. It will be used 432 white commercial laying hens at the laying peak, distributed into a completely randomized design 4 x 3 (4 levels of turmeric extract and 3 levels of vitamin E) with six replications of six hens each. The treatments will consist of: T1, control diet without including turmeric extract and vitamin E; T2, 0 ppm vit E and 0.1% of turmeric; T3, 0 ppm vit E and 0.2% of turmeric; T4, 0 ppm vit E and 0.3% of turmeric; T5, 50 ppm vit E and 0.0% of turmeric; T6, 50 ppm vit E and 0.1% of turmeric; T7, 50 ppm vit E and 0.2% of turmeric; T8, 50 ppm vit E and 0.3% of turmeric; T9, 100 ppm vit E and 0.0% of turmeric; T10, 100 ppm vit E and 0.1 % of turmeric; T11, 100 ppm vit E and 0.2% of turmeric; T12, 100 ppm vit E and 0.3% of turmeric. The following parameters of egg quality will be analyzed: specific gravity, yolk, albumen and eggshell percentages, eggshell thickness, Haugh units, yolk index, yolk color, as well as parameters of production performance: egg weight, egg production, egg mass, feed intake, feed conversion and mortality. At the end of the experiment, the blood of one hen per plot will be collected to evaluate the lipid oxidation, lipid profile, heterophil: lymphocyte ratio, antibody titers against the disease Egg Drop Syndrome. The shelf life characteristics will be assessed by means of eggs collected on the last experimental day and stored for 14 days. Also, it will be done analysis of lipid peroxidation of eggs, profile of fatty acids, cholesterol and total lipids in the egg yolk. The economic analysis will be evaluated using the index of nutritional bio-economic. The statistical analysis of the results will be undertaken with an Analysis of Variance and the difference between the mean values of the treatments by the Tukey's test at 5% probability level, using the software SAS (2002). (AU)