title: The effect on egg-shell thickness of the inclusion of the calcinogenic plant Solanum malacoxylon in the diet of laying hens.
abstract: The leaves of the plant Solanum malacoxylon contain 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol, the active form of vitamin D. The effect on egg-shell thickness of supplementing the diet of laying hens with a dry powdered preparation of the leaves (DLSM) has been studied. A significnat increase in shell thickness was evident for eggs laid on the second and subsequent days of the DLSM-regimen but nor for those laid during the first 24 hours. It is suggested that the provision of high doses of the vitamin D metabolite in the form of a DLSM supplement may restore calcium binding protein levels in birds approaching the end of the first laying year and hence improve dietary calcium absorption and consequently egg-shell quality.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004100:Dihydroxycholecalciferols / Q000378:metabolism; D004528:Egg Shell; D005260:Female; D010058:Oviposition; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D004100:Dihydroxycholecalciferols