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FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF RESIDUAL YOLK AND LIVER FROM BROILER CHICKS HATCHED FROM

OMEGA-3 ENRICHED EGGS Koppenol A.12, Delezie E.2, Wang Y.1, Willems E.1, Everaert N.1, Buyse J.1

1KU Leuven, Dep. Biosystems, Division Livestock-Nutrition-Quality, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30 – bus 2456, B-3001 Leuven

²ILVO Animal Sciences Unit, Scheldeweg 68, B-9090 Melle

Introduction

Conclusions

Material and Methods Results

Yolk RY L d1 L d14 L d30

conc

entra

tion

EP

A (%

)

0,0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

CON EPA=DHA DHA EPA

c

b

c

a

b

a

b

a

b

aa

a

abab

a

b

Contact: astrid.koppenol@ilvo.vlaanderen.be

Fatty acids in the diets of broiler breeder hens, such as arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), can be built into the yolk and therefore be available to the progeny for their early development. They are absorbed from the residual yolk and are built into the liver to serve as a reservoir for eicosanoid production, and neural development. Aim:To investigate the effect of maternal transition of n-3 PUFA’s , such as EPA and DHA on fatty acid composition of yolk, residual yolk (RY) and liver (L) of the offspring at day 1, 14 and 30.

Yolk RY L d1 L d14 L d30

conc

entra

tion

DH

A (%

)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

CON EPA=DHA DHA EPA

b

aab

a

b

a a a

b

a a

a

b ab

a

ab

EPA enriched hens produced eggs with a higher concentration of EPA and DHA in both the yolk and residual yolk, while adding DHA to the feed resulted only in an increased DHA concentration. At day 1 post hatch hepatic EPA and DHA concentration were significant higher for enriched groups compared to the control group. After 14 days the difference in hepatic EPA and DHA concentration disappeared. Hepatic DHA concentration decreased with age, while hepatic EPA concentration remained constant during post hatch life. Moreover the concentration of DHA was 7 times higher than that of EPA in the liver of 1-day old chicks.