Nutritional quality of eggs from hens fed distillers dried grains with solubles.
A feeding trial was conducted with laying hens where either 10% or 20% regular-fat distiller's dried grains with solubles (R-DDGS) or low-fat DDGS (L-DDGS) were incorporated into the feed. Production parameters and the effect of DDGS on egg nutritional quality, focusing on yolk lipids, were evaluated. Neither R-DDGS nor L-DDGS at up to 20% of laying hen feeds had a statistically significant impact on hen weight gain, egg production, feed intake, feed efficiency, egg mass, or egg weight. Specific gravity was slightly lower for eggs from hens fed 10% R-DDGS or 20% L-DDGS. Eggs from layers fed DDGS had enhanced levels of tocopherols, tocotrienols, and xanthophylls in the yolk, as well as also increased yolk yellow and red color. Eggs from L-DDGS diet had higher tocopherol content, but eggs from R-DDGS diets had higher xanthophylls. Fatty acid composition in eggs was slightly altered by DDGS, but the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids was very similar. Feeding DDGS to layer hens had no effect on lecithin or cholesterol content of the eggs. Thus, inclusion of DDGS in the diet of laying hens resulted in increases of several beneficial lipophilic nutrients in egg yolks with no apparent detrimental effects.
National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 400 University Park Dr., Edwardsville, IL strupia@ethanolresearch.com.
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S
Trupia
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, NCAUR, Functional Foods Research Unit, Peoria, IL.
J K
JK
Winkler-Moser
University of Georgia, Poultry Science Department, Athens Georgia.
A C
AC
Guney
University of Georgia, Poultry Science Department, Athens Georgia.
R
R
Beckstead
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
C-Y O
CO
Chen
D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000378:metabolism; D004530:Egg Yolk / Q000737:chemistry; D004531:Eggs / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D009753:Nutritive Value; D011897:Random Allocation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*
D004041:Dietary Fats
distiller's dried grains with solubles; egg color; egg production; laying hens; nutritional quality