Fatty Acid Profile and Cholesterol Contents in Egg Yolk of Hens Fed Variable Energy to Protein Ratio Diet Using Hermetia Illucens Meal.
Abstract
The impact of changing the energy-to-protein ratio using Hermetia illucens meal as a protein source on the fatty acid profile and cholesterol content in egg yolk for 90 days was evaluated in this study. Diets were formulated with levels of normal (155), low (140), and high (170) energy-to-protein ratio using Hermetia illucens meal at 0%, 5%, and 1% to form three treatments, respectively. A total of 54 nine-month-old local Arabian strain laying hens were randomly assigned to nine-floor cages. The analysis results of Hermetia illucens revealed that the total saturated fatty acid content was higher than the total unsaturated fatty acid content. Also, there was lower omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content than omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid content. The finding of this experiment revealed that birds fed the low energy-to-protein diet containing Hermetia illucens at 5% meal increased (P<0.05) total unsaturated fatty acid content and depressed (P<0.05) total saturated fatty acid content in egg yolk compared to the birds fed the control diet and birds fed the high energy-to-protein diet. The total omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content (P<0.05) and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid content (P<0.01) were lowered by Hermetia illucens meal diets. There was a similar effect (P>0.05) on cholesterol content in the egg yolk of the hens fed dietary treatments. In conclusion, formulation of the diet with the low energy-to-protein ratio using Hermetia illucens meal had a positive effect on the fatty acid profile of the egg yolk.
