Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T16:19:33.112Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A comparative assessment of the fatty acid profiles and antioxidant status of supermarket eggs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2015

Mark Gaffney ,
Rachel O'Rourke ,
Jules Taylor-Pickard  and
Richard Murphy
Mark Gaffney*
Affiliation:
Alltech Bioscience Centre, Sarney, Summerhill Road, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland
Rachel O'Rourke
Affiliation:
Alltech Bioscience Centre, Sarney, Summerhill Road, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland
Jules Taylor-Pickard
Affiliation:
Alltech Bioscience Centre, Sarney, Summerhill Road, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland
Richard Murphy
Affiliation:
Alltech Bioscience Centre, Sarney, Summerhill Road, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, Ireland
*
*Corresponding author:mgaffney@alltech.com; ph: +353-1-8252244
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Nutrient deposition in eggs is largely dictated by the dietary composition of laying hen feed, particularly in terms of specific fatty acids and antioxidants. In the present study, the nutritional quality of a range of commercially available egg varieties, marketed as omega-3 enriched; corn-fed; free range and standard caged, were assessed by determining fatty acid profiles and antioxidant status. Across each egg variety, significant differences were observed in key fatty acids such as palmitic, oleic, linoleic, alpha-linolenic and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (P ≤ 0.05). Egg yolks enriched with a stated dietary source of omega-3 fatty acid DHA were shown to have significantly improved levels of DHA (P ≤ 0.05), approximately 4.5-fold higher than standard caged eggs. Compared with free range, corn fed and caged, eggs from diets enriched with a source of omega-3 were shown to have considerably altered omega-6: omega-3 ratios, amounting to 1.5–2.1 fold reductions. Yolk antioxidant activity was improved for omega-3 enriched eggs, particularly in hexane fractionated samples. The inclusion of omega-3 fatty acids to the diet resulted in eggs with improved DHA contents and antioxidant status, highlighting the importance of poultry diet composition for egg nutritional quality.

Keywords

Eggs varietyomega-3DHAfatty acidsantioxidants
Type
Original Research
Information
Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition , Volume 3 , 2015 , e9
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition Ltd. 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abril, J. R.; Barclay, W. R.; Abril, P. G. (1999) Safe use of microalgae (DHA GOLD™) in laying hen feed for the production of DHA-enriched eggs. In Egg Nutrition and Biotechnology. Ed. Sim, J. S., Nakai, S. and Guenter, W.. pp. 197–202.Google Scholar
Benakmoum, A., Larid, R. and Zidani, S. (2013) Enriching egg yolk with carotenoids & phenols. International Journal of Biological, Veterinary, Agricultural and Food Engineering 7 (7): 205–209.Google Scholar
Calder, P.C. (2001) ω3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Inflammation and Immunity. In Fatty Acids and Lipids - New Findings. Eds. Hamazaki, T. and Okuyama, H.. Basel, Swizerland. p. 109–116.Google Scholar
Cherian, G. and Sim, J.S. (1991) Effect of Feeding Full Fat Flax and Canola Seeds to Laying Hens on the Fatty Acid Composition of Eggs, Embryos, and Newly Hatched Chicks. Poultry Science 70 (4): 917–922.Google Scholar
Ferrier, L.K., Caston, L.J., Leeson, S., Squires, J., Weaver, B.J. and Holub, B.J. (1995) Alpha-Linolenic acid- and docosahexaenoic acid-enriched eggs from hens fed flaxseed: influence on blood lipids and platelet phospholipid fatty acids in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62 (1): 81–86.Google Scholar
Fredriksson, S., Elwinger, K. and Pickova, J. (2006) Fatty acid and carotenoid composition of egg yolk as an effect of microalgae addition to feed formula for laying hens. Food Chemistry 99 (3): 530–537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaffney, M.A., O'Rourke, R, Murphy, R.A. (2014) Manipulation of fatty acid and antioxidant profiles of the microalgae Schizochytrium sp. through flaxseed oil supplementation. Algal Research 6: 195–200.Google Scholar
Gillingham, L.G., Caston, L., Leeson, S., Hourtovenko, K., Holub, B.J. (2005) The effects of consuming docosahexaenoic acid DHA-enriched eggs on serum lipids and fatty acid compositions in statin-treated hypercholesterolemic male patients. Food Research International 38 (10): 1117–1123.Google Scholar
Guedes, A.C., Amaro, H.M., Gião, M.S. and Malcata, F.X. (2013) Optimisation of ABTS radical cation assay specifically for determination of antioxidant capacity of intracellular extracts of microalgae and cyanobacteria. Food Chemistry 138 (1): 638–643.Google Scholar
Hernandez, J.M., Beardswort, P.M. and Weber, G. (2005) Egg quality – meeting consumer expectations. International Poultry Production 13 (3): 20–23.Google Scholar
Hoffman, D.R., Teuer, R.C., Castaneda, Y.S., Wheaton, D.H., Bosworth, R.G., O'Connor, A.R., Morale, S.E., Wiedemann, L.E. and Birch, E.E. (2004) Maturation of visual acuity is accelerated in breast-fed term infants fed baby food containing DHA-enriched egg yolk. Journal of Nutrition 134 (9): 2307–2313.Google Scholar
Howe, P.R.C., Downing, J.A., Grenyer, B.F.S., Grigonis-Deane, E.M. and Bryden, W.L. (2002) Tuna fishmeal as a source of DHA for n−3 PUFA enrichment of pork, chicken, and eggs. Lipids 37 (11): 1067–1076.Google Scholar
Loetscher, Y., Kreuzer, M. And Messikommer, R.E. (2013) Utility of nettle (Urtica dioica) in layer diets as a natural yellow colorant for egg yolk. Animal Feed Science and Technology 186 (3–4): 158–168.Google Scholar
Johnson, M.L., Dahiya, J.P., Olkowoski, A.A. and Classen, H.L. (2008) The effect of dietary sinapic acid (4-hydroxy-3, 5-dimethoxy-cinnamic acid) on gastrointestinal tract microbial fermentation, nutrient utilization, and egg quality in laying hens. Poultry Science 87 (5): 958–963.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kartikasari, L.R., Hughes, R.J., Geier, M.S., Makrides, M. and Gibson, R.A. (2012) Dietary alpha-linolenic acid enhances omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in chicken tissues. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 87 (4–5): 103–109.Google Scholar
Maehle, L., Eilertsen, E., Mollerup, S., Schonberg, S., Krokan, H.E. and Haugen, A. (1995) Effects of n-3 fatty acids during neoplastic progression and comparison of in vitro and in vivo sensitivity of two human tumour cell lines. British Journal of Cancer 71: 691–696.Google Scholar
Milinsk, M.C., Murakami, A.E., Gomes, S.T.M., Matsushita, M. and de Souza, N.E. (2003) Fatty acid profile of egg yolk lipids from hens fed diets rich in n-3 fatty acids. Food Chemistry 83: 287–292.Google Scholar
Oliveira, D.D., Baião, N.C., Cançado, S.V., Grimaldi, R., Souza, M.R., Lara, L.J. and Lana, A.M. (2010) Effects of lipid sources in the diet of laying hens on the fatty acid profiles of egg yolks. Poultry Science 89 (11): 2484–2490.Google Scholar
Re, R., Pellegrini, N., Proteggente, A., Pannala, A., Yang, M. and Rice-Evans, C. (1999) Antioxidant activity applying an improved ABTS radical cation decolorization assay. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 26 (9–10): 1231–1237.Google Scholar
Samman, S., Kung, F.P., Carter, L.M., Foster, M.J., Ahmad, Z.I., Phuyal, J.L. and Petocz, P. (2009) Fatty acid composition of certified organic, conventional and omega-3 eggs. Food Chemistry 116: 911–914.Google Scholar
Simopoulos, A.P. (1991) Omega-3 fatty acids in health and disease and in growth and development. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54 (3): 438–463.Google Scholar
Singleton, V.L. and Rossi, J.A. (1965) Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 16 (3): 144–158.Google Scholar
Speake, B.K., Surai, P.F., Noble, R.C., Beer, J.V. and Wood, N.A.R. (1999) Differences in egg lipid and antioxidant composition between wild and captive pheasants and geese. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B 124: 101–107.Google Scholar
Surai, P.F. and Sparks, N.H.C. (2001) Designer eggs: from improvement of egg composition to functional food. Trends in Food Science & Technology 12: 7–16.Google Scholar
van Elswyk, M.E. (1997) Comparison of n–3 fatty acid sources in laying hen rations for improvement of whole egg nutritional quality: a review. British Journal of Nutrition 78 (1): S61–S69.Google Scholar
Wall, R., Ross, R.P., Fitzgerald, G.F. and Stanton, C. (2010) Fatty acids from fish: the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Nutrition Reviews 68 (5): 280–289.Google Scholar