Cholesterol Content and Fatty Acids Profile in Conventional and Omega-3 Enriched Eggs

• Autor(a) principal: Kralik,G
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Kralik,Z, Galović,O, Hanžek,D
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-635X2022000200301
• topic: Egg; fatty acids; n-3 PUFA; cholesterol

ABSTRACT This study aimed to produce table eggs enriched with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids by diet modification and at the same time, determine the fatty acid profile and cholesterol content in egg yolk, and compare them with that of conventionally produced eggs. Eighty laying hens of Tetra SL hybrids were allocated into two experimental groups. The diets were balanced at the level of 11.60 MJ/kg ME and 16.63% crude protein. The experiment lasted 5 weeks. In the n-3 PUFA eggs, yolk cholesterol levels were 1179.25 mg/100 g compared to the 1287.46 mg/100 g measured in the control eggs. The difference of 108.21 mg/100 g i.e. 8.4% was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The fatty acid profile in n-3 PUFA versus control eggs was as follows: SFA 30.55 vs 35.89% (p<0.001), MUFA 42.61 vs 42.28%, n-6 PUFA 22.10 vs 21.40% (p>0.05), and n-3 PUFA 4.74 vs 0.82% (p<0.001). Furthermore, ALA content was 2.28 vs 0.26%, EPA 0.31 vs 0.14%, and DHA 2.20 vs 0.43% (p<0.001) in n-3 PUFA vs control eggs, respectively. The n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in the enriched eggs was 5.11 and in the conventional ones 23.73 (p<0.001). Based on the results of our study, it can be concluded that in n-3 PUFA-enriched eggs, the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio is significantly improved compared to the conventional eggs. Thus, n-3 PUFA eggs are nutritionally and functionally more favorable than conventional eggs for human nutrition.