title: Oxidative stability and lipid components of eggs from flax-fed hens: effect of dietary antioxidants and storage.
abstract: An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary antioxidants and storage on fatty acid profile, oxidative stability, and vitamin E concentration of n-3 fatty acid-enriched eggs. Eggs (384, 48/diet) were collected from ISA Brown layers fed diets containing corn-soy (control) with 100 g/kg of flax seed and 2 types of antioxidants [alpha-tocopherols (alpha-TOC) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)] at 0, 50, 100, or 150 IU or mg/kg. Eggs were stored at 4 degrees C. On d 0, 20, 40, and 60 of storage, 2 eggs were selected randomly from each replicate (totaling 12 eggs per treatment) and analyzed. Eggs from hens fed flax had increased alpha-linolenic (18:3n-3), eicosapentaenoic (20:5n-3), and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA, 22:6n-3) and decreased arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) and total n-6:n-3 ratio when compared with control eggs (P<0.05). The n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio was lowest in the flax+50 IU of alpha-TOC, flax+100 IU of alpha-TOC, and flax+BHT supplemented group when compared with the flax group (P<0.05). With the exception of flax+100 mg of BHT, addition of antioxidants led to a reduction in palmitic acid in fresh eggs (P<0.05). During the first 20 d of storage, over a 17% reduction in total n-3 fatty acids was observed in eggs from flax+50 mg of BHT supplemented groups (P<0.05). Docosahexaenoic acid was the predominant long-chain n-3 fatty acid in egg and was stable during storage in the control, flax, flax+100 IU of alpha-TOC, flax+150 IU of alpha-TOC, and flax+150 mg of BHT groups. However, antioxidant supplementation had no effect on DHA upon storage in flax+50 IU of alpha-TOC and flax+50 mg of BHT eggs where over 13 to 17% reduction in DHA content was observed during 20 to 60 d of storage (P<0.05). Inclusion of alpha-TOC led to over 4.5- to 12-fold increases in alpha-TOC in eggs. Egg storage for 40 d or longer led to over 50% reduction in egg alpha-TOC (P<0.05). Feeding flax seeds led to an increase in TBA reactive substances in eggs (P<0.05). alpha-Tocopherol was better in preventing lipid oxidation than BHT at d 0 of storage. However, neither had a significant effect on egg TBA reactive substances upon 60 d of storage (P>0.05). These studies demonstrate that the level and type of antioxidants and duration of egg storage significantly affected the fatty acid profile, alpha-TOC status, and oxidative stability of chicken eggs.
authors.affiliation: University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore 54000, Pakistan. hayatzafar@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hayat
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Pasha
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Khattak
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jabbar
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D004531:Eggs / Q000032:analysis*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019597:Flax; D005519:Food Preservation; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008055:Lipids; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances