20 Carotenoids in Aviculture
529
between day 15 and 21 of incubation (1.44 vs. 2.07, P = 0.017). It can be postulated that CX supplementation improved breeder fertility (P = 0.0171) by improving
survival and storage of spermatozoa within the reproductive tract of the hen. Indeed,
according to Bréque et al. (2003), long-term storage of spermatozoa is supported by
a complex antioxidant defence system present within the oviduct that protects spermatozoa against lipid peroxidation. CX may play an important role in that system.
As for the positive effect of CX on hatchability, this can be explained by its participation in antioxidant defences during embryonic development (Surai 2002). It is
interesting to mention that another carotenoid with a similar structure astaxanthin
(AX) fed to breeders was shown to be transferred to the egg yolk and had a significant
protective effect against decreasing hatchability due to egg storage at 21 °C (Saito
and Kita 2011). The hatchability of eggs stored at 21 °C was significantly lower
than that at 10 °C, and lowered hatchability was restored by maternal intake of AX.
Elevated levels of dietary AX from 5 to 20 ppm gradually restrained the decrease
in hatchability at 21 °C. And it is interesting to note an additional benefit to use
CX supplementation of the breeder diet as an opportunity to identify low-producing
breeders by observing high colouration of shanks (Pinchasov et al. 1992). Indeed,
there is a distribution of carotenoids between different tissues in the body and if egg
production rate is decreasing more CX is available for shank colouration.
Increased CX concentration in the egg yolk was shown to be associated with an
increased resistance to oxidative stress (Surai et al. 2003). Recently it has been shown
that the egg yolks coming from broiler breeders fed with the sorghum diet supplemented with CX were characterised by the best antioxidant status and the CX supplementation in diets at 64 wk of age of broiler breeders reduced the offspring mortality
and improved their viability (Rosa et al. 2017). Furthermore, the CX supplementation
(6 mg/kg) in broiler breeder diets improved the productive and reproductive performance (laying % and hatchable eggs) in the second part of reproduction (Bonilla
et al. 2017). Interestingly, maternal canthaxanthin at 6 mg/kg increased chick E. coli
bactericidal capacity and d 1 oxidative burst and antioxidant capacity (Johnson-Dahl
et al. 2017).
Dietary inclusion of CX contributed to a higher resistance of the vitelline
membrane of fresh egg yolks (Damaziak et al. 2018). Recently, a meta-analysis was
conducted to determine the effect of the CX dietary supplementation on production
performance in layer hens. The analysis included 576 performance measurements
from 34 trials conducted from 1997 to 2012. Significant dose-dependent increases
were found in egg yolk mass (+0.53% per ppm of CX inclusion in the feed, P <
0.001), egg mass (+0.47% per ppm, P = 0.0132), egg weight (+0.17% per ppm, P
= 0.046) and in feed intake (+0.32% per ppm, P = 0.0054). The deposition of CX
in the egg yolk was 2.25 ppm per ppm of CX in the feed (P < 0.001). The authors
concluded that dietary CX improved egg yolk pigmentation, increased AO defence,
enhanced reproduction, and immune-modulation, as well as affected egg mass (Umar
Faruk et al. 2018). There are data available on the positive effects of a combination
of CX and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol on duck breeders (Ren et al. 2016a, b).
529
between day 15 and 21 of incubation (1.44 vs. 2.07, P = 0.017). It can be postulated that CX supplementation improved breeder fertility (P = 0.0171) by improving
survival and storage of spermatozoa within the reproductive tract of the hen. Indeed,
according to Bréque et al. (2003), long-term storage of spermatozoa is supported by
a complex antioxidant defence system present within the oviduct that protects spermatozoa against lipid peroxidation. CX may play an important role in that system.
As for the positive effect of CX on hatchability, this can be explained by its participation in antioxidant defences during embryonic development (Surai 2002). It is
interesting to mention that another carotenoid with a similar structure astaxanthin
(AX) fed to breeders was shown to be transferred to the egg yolk and had a significant
protective effect against decreasing hatchability due to egg storage at 21 °C (Saito
and Kita 2011). The hatchability of eggs stored at 21 °C was significantly lower
than that at 10 °C, and lowered hatchability was restored by maternal intake of AX.
Elevated levels of dietary AX from 5 to 20 ppm gradually restrained the decrease
in hatchability at 21 °C. And it is interesting to note an additional benefit to use
CX supplementation of the breeder diet as an opportunity to identify low-producing
breeders by observing high colouration of shanks (Pinchasov et al. 1992). Indeed,
there is a distribution of carotenoids between different tissues in the body and if egg
production rate is decreasing more CX is available for shank colouration.
Increased CX concentration in the egg yolk was shown to be associated with an
increased resistance to oxidative stress (Surai et al. 2003). Recently it has been shown
that the egg yolks coming from broiler breeders fed with the sorghum diet supplemented with CX were characterised by the best antioxidant status and the CX supplementation in diets at 64 wk of age of broiler breeders reduced the offspring mortality
and improved their viability (Rosa et al. 2017). Furthermore, the CX supplementation
(6 mg/kg) in broiler breeder diets improved the productive and reproductive performance (laying % and hatchable eggs) in the second part of reproduction (Bonilla
et al. 2017). Interestingly, maternal canthaxanthin at 6 mg/kg increased chick E. coli
bactericidal capacity and d 1 oxidative burst and antioxidant capacity (Johnson-Dahl
et al. 2017).
Dietary inclusion of CX contributed to a higher resistance of the vitelline
membrane of fresh egg yolks (Damaziak et al. 2018). Recently, a meta-analysis was
conducted to determine the effect of the CX dietary supplementation on production
performance in layer hens. The analysis included 576 performance measurements
from 34 trials conducted from 1997 to 2012. Significant dose-dependent increases
were found in egg yolk mass (+0.53% per ppm of CX inclusion in the feed, P <
0.001), egg mass (+0.47% per ppm, P = 0.0132), egg weight (+0.17% per ppm, P
= 0.046) and in feed intake (+0.32% per ppm, P = 0.0054). The deposition of CX
in the egg yolk was 2.25 ppm per ppm of CX in the feed (P < 0.001). The authors
concluded that dietary CX improved egg yolk pigmentation, increased AO defence,
enhanced reproduction, and immune-modulation, as well as affected egg mass (Umar
Faruk et al. 2018). There are data available on the positive effects of a combination
of CX and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol on duck breeders (Ren et al. 2016a, b).