Fatty acid composition of eggs produced by hens fed diets containing groundnut, soya bean or linseed

Abstract

The influence of the diet's fatty acid composition on the fatty acid composition, weight, fat and cholesterol contents of chicken eggs was studied in an experiment in which laying hens were fed diets of similar proximate composition but containing either groundnut, soya bean or linseed. The fatty acid composition of the egg fat corresponded with that of the diets: groundnut feeding produced a high oleic acid content of the eggs, soya bean feeding resulted in a high level of linoleic acid and linseed feeding raised the level of α-linolenic acid. Incorporation of groundnut versus linseed into the diet raised the arachidonic acid content of the eggs. Feeding the linseed diet produced higher contents of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid. The three experimental diets did not differently influence the cholesterol and fat contents of the eggs, but linseed versus soya bean significantly reduced egg weight by on average 3.4%. It is indicated that eggs, depending on their composition, can contribute significantly to man's daily requirement of docosahexaenoic acid; high intakes of this fatty acid might reduce coronary heart disease.