Study on the influence of dietary sea buckthorn meal on nutritional properties of laying hen eggs

The study aimed to evaluate the transfer of bioactive compounds from sea buckthorn meal (SBM) supplement to eggs and the effect on lipid quality and peroxidation process. Thirty-two-week-old TETRA SL laying hens were allocated to two dietary treatments, 30 birds each (15 replicate pens). The control diet (C) contained a maize-soybean diet, and the experimental diet contained the previous C diet with 2% of maize replaced with SBM. Thirty-six eggs from each group were collected in order to determine the quality parameters at the end of the experiment. The antioxidant profile of SBM showed that the phytoadditive is a valuable source of vitamin E, xanthophylls and polyphenols. The inclusion of 2% of SBM in the experimental diet led to a more than 25% increase of vitamin E and an almost 50% increase of xanthophylls compared to the control. The markers specific to the coronary risk decreased significantly in the experimental group compared to the control, showing a beneficial effect of dietary SBM on the quality of yolk lipids. The bioactive compounds detected in egg yolk showed a significant (P < 0.05) improvement of the antioxidant profile, the rate of vitamin (A and E), carotenoid (lutein and zeaxanthin) and mineral (iron and zinc) deposition increased after dietary SBM inclusion. Regarding the lipid peroxidation parameters, the dietary SBM inclusion acted in the first phase of the lipid peroxidation process by inhibiting the formation of primary oxidation products (hydroperoxides and conjugated dienes). In conclusion, the sea buckthorn supplementation of the laying hen diet improved the bioactive compound concentrations in eggs and delayed the oxidation process of yolk during storage.