| Abstrakt: |
1. The effects of tomato powder supplementation on performance, egg quality, serum and egg yolk carotenoids, vitamins and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in were investigated in laying hens in mid-lay. 2. A total of 90 laying hens, 49 weeks old, were divided into 3 groups consisting of 6 replicate cages, 5 birds per cage. Birds were randomly fed on one of three diets: basal diet and basal diet added with 5 or 10 g tomato powder per kg diet. 3. As tomato powder concentration increased, there were linear increases in feed intake, egg production, egg weight and yolk colour and a linear decrease in feed conversion. Shell weight, shell thickness and Haugh unit remained unchanged in response to dietary treatments. 4. Concentrations of serum and egg yolk lycopene,β-carotene, lutein and vitamin A increased for both diets including tomato powder, whereas MDA decreased linearly with increasing supplemental tomato powder concentration. 5. Tomato powder supplementation increased egg production persistency and increased carotenoids and vitamin A contents in egg yolk, accompanied by reduced yolk lipid peroxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
