Internal egg quality of hens fed diets supplemented with natural pigments and canthaxanthin

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the supplementation with natural pigments and canthaxanthin in wheat- and corn-based diets on the internal egg quality of laying hens. A total of 820 ISA Brown hens, at 78 weeks of age, were subjected to the following 20 supplementation treatments: turmeric, paprika, and annatto at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4%, combined with canthaxanthin at 0.003, 0.006, 0.009, and 0.012% in wheat-soybean meal based diets; canthaxanthin at 0.003 and 0.006% in corn-soybean meal based diets; and two control groups without pigment addition to the diets. Yolk color, the Haugh unit, and the yolk index were evaluated in ten fresh eggs per treatment at 0, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after supplementation. The addition of turmeric, paprika, and annatto up to 0.4% in wheat-based diets reduced yolk color, without affecting the Haugh unit and yolk index. The addition of canthaxanthin starting at 0.003%, irrespectively of the diet, increased yolk color without affecting the Haugh unit and yolk index. Although the supplementation with canthaxanthin in wheat and corn-based diets of laying hens greatly increases yolk color, both the natural pigments and the synthetic one do not affect internal egg quality.