The effect of lipotropic factors at different energy levels on performance, egg fatty acid profile and blood plasma antioxidant status in laying hens

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of L-carnitine, choline chloride and lecithin in diets with medium and high energy levels on performance, egg fatty acid profile and blood plasma antioxidant status in laying hens. Researches have shown that the use of lipotropic agents not only improves the performance and quality of livestock products, but also affects the health and economic longevity of livestock. Materials & Methods: This research was conducted with 320 Leghorn laying hens (Highline W-36) at the age of 40 weeks for 12 weeks as a 4×2 factorial experiment in the framework of a completely randomized design in 8 treatments, 4 replications and 10 hens in each Repeated. Treatments include diets containing L-carnitine (100 mg/kg), choline chloride (1000 mg/kg), lecithin (20 g/kg) and a combination of different energy levels (2900 and 3000 kcal/kg). Results: In the present study, increasing the energy level from 2900 to 3000 as well as the use of lipotropic factors (L-carnitine, choline chloride and lecithin) in the diet improved some performance parameters in laying hens. Egg fatty acid profile was not affected by different energy levels (P<0.05). On the other hand, the mutual effects of energy and lipotropic agent (lecithin and choline chloride) led to a significant decrease in the concentration of omega-3 in eggs (P<0.05). Also, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 concentration in the egg yolk of the treatments fed with energy 2900 and 3000 x lecithin was higher than other treatments (P<0.05). Blood malondialdehyde concentration in this study was not affected by different energy levels (P<0.05). Blood malondialdehyde concentration decreased under the influence of lipotropic agent (P<0.05). Conclusion: This research showed that adding lipotropic factors to the diet of laying hens with high energy levels improves production performance, the immune system, and egg quality. Among the lipotropic agents used in this study, L-carnitine and choline chloride had better effects on production performance than lecithin.