Effect of tomato by-product diet supplementation on egg yolk colour

Abstract

Laying hen diets are usually rich in pigments, often synthetic, in order to intensify yolk colour as consumers’ requested (Baroli et al., 1996). Nowadays the public concern is oriented toward food safety; so, it is important to substitute synthetic products with natural pigments. It is important to look for new alternative natural pigment sources such as Spirulina algae (Anderson et al., 1991; Ross and Domini, 1990) or Haemococcus pluvialis that also have a probiotic effect on animals. Lycopen is one of the new carotenoids that could be used in animal production. This is a tomato extracted pigment and it is important for its role of beta-carotene precursor, for its immunostimulant effects and for its dietary and nutritional value in human health (Franceschi et al., 1995; Porrini et al., 1998; Ribaya-Mercado et al., 1995; Riso et al., 1999)...

Keywords

• tomato by-products, lycopene, yolk colour.