Effect of a Combination of Fenugreek Seeds, Linseeds, Garlic and Copper Sulfate on Laying Hens Performances, Egg Physical and Chemical Qualities
Besma Omri,
Ben Larbi Manel,
Zemzmi Jihed,
Alessandra Durazzo,
Massimo Lucarini,
Raffaele Romano,
Antonello Santini,
Hédi Abdouli
Affiliations
Besma Omri
Laboratory of improvement and integrated development of animal productivity and food resources, Department of animal production, Higher School of Agriculture of Mateur, University of Carthage, 1054 Carthage, Tunisia
Ben Larbi Manel
Research Unit of biodiversity and resource development in mountain areas of Tunisia (UR17AGR14), Higher School of Agriculture of Mateur, University of Carthage, 1054 Carthage, Tunisia
Zemzmi Jihed
Laboratory of improvement and integrated development of animal productivity and food resources, Department of animal production, Higher School of Agriculture of Mateur, University of Carthage, 1054 Carthage, Tunisia
Alessandra Durazzo
CREA—Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Massimo Lucarini
CREA—Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
Raffaele Romano
Department of Agriculture, University of Napoli Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici (NA), Italy
Antonello Santini
Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
Hédi Abdouli
Laboratory of improvement and integrated development of animal productivity and food resources, Department of animal production, Higher School of Agriculture of Mateur, University of Carthage, 1054 Carthage, Tunisia
Several investigations have suggested that fenugreek seeds may have a hypocholesterolemic activity, and thus be efficient in the treatment of egg yolk cholesterol. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of dietary incorporation of 3% of fenugreek seed combined with 3% of linseed, 1% of garlic paste, and 0.078% of copper sulfate on laying performance, egg quality and lipids profile. Forty four, 41 weeks old, Novogen White laying hens received for 42 days 100 g/d of basal diet (control) or experimental diet (CFSGLSCS). With the exception of egg weight, which showed a significant increase for hens fed on CFSGLSCS with 57.99 g compared to 56.34 g for the control group, egg production (90.84% for control compared to 87.89% for experimental diet), egg mass (50.95 g/d for control compared to 50.87 g/d for CFSGLSCS), feed efficiency (1.94 for control compared to 1.98 for CFSGLSCS) were not affected by dietary treatments. The addition of CFSGLSCS reduced (p < 0.05) egg yolk cholesterol by 5.4% and blood cholesterol from 158.42 mg/dL to 122.82 mg/dL for control and CFSGLSCS, respectively. The dietary addition of CFSGLSCS increased (p < 0.05) total lipids from 4.5 g/egg to 5.23 g/egg and didn’t affect (p > 0.05) yolk triglycerides.
