Effects of the mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde supplementation on laying performance, egg quality, and antioxidant status in laying hens.

BACKGROUND: This study was to determine the effects of the mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde (GCM) supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant capacity, and serum parameters of laying hens. A total of 1,120 14-week-old Jingfen-1 strain laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to 4 dietary treatments: control, GCM groups supplemented with 250, 500, and 1,000 mg kg-1 for 12 weeks.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, GCM supplemented groups significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the rate of unqualified eggs of laying hens aged 17 - 24 weeks. Supplementation of GCM significantly increased (P < 0.05) yolk color and serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity but decreased (P < 0.05) the hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) content in the serum of laying hens at the age of 20 weeks. Furthermore, groups supplemented GCM had a significant increase (P < 0.05) in Haugh unit, yolk color, activities of total superoxide dismutase and GSH-Px, and the glucose content in serum and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the content of urea nitrogen and H2 O2 and malondialdehyde in serum of laying hens at the age of 24 weeks. The 500 mg kg-1 GCM groups significantly increased (P < 0.05) the number of large white follicles and 1,000 mg kg-1 GCM groups decreased the number of large yellow follicles in 28-week-old laying hens.

CONCLUSION: These results indicated that GCM supplementation has positive effects on reducing egg loss and improving egg quality in the early laying period of laying hens. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.