Biofortification of Hens Eggs with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids by New Dietary Formulation: Supercritical Microalgal Extract

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential components of the human diet. The consumption of PUFA can be increased by enriching animal products, such as eggs, with bioactive compounds. New dietary feed supplements were elaborated to increase the level of PUFAs in hens eggs. Nutritional and technological aspects related to the development of functional eggs were discussed. Experimental works dealing with feeding hens new supplements and an investigation of the bioavailability of PUFAs and their transfer to eggs content were undertaken. Analysis of the results obtained during tests showed that used additives may increase the content of such fatty acids (FAs) in eggs: docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, C22:5 n-3), eicosadienoic acid (C22:2 n-6), and the total omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids content (PUFA n-6). The investigated additives may also reduce the content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) such as pentadecanoic acid (C15:0). ABSTRACT: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Spirulina platensis, formulation containing microalgal extract, post-extraction residue, and formulation without algal extract (containing only emulsifier) on the content of FAs in the eggs of laying hens. The experiment was conducted on 90 laying hens (ISA Brown) as a completely randomized design. Hens were assigned to five experimental groups (six replicates). The FAs content in eggs was determined after 30, 60, 90, and 120 days of the experiment. There were no statistically significant differences in FA profiles after 30 days of the experiment. It was shown that after 60, 90, and 120 days of the experiment, the investigated additives had a significant impact on the content of such acids as: dodecanoic acid (C12:0), C15:0, nonadecanoic acid (C19:0), myristoleic acid (C14:1 n-5), α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3 n-3), DPA, C20:2 n-6, and decosahexaenoic acid (DHA C22:6 n-6). There were also significant differences in total PUFA n-3, PUFA n-6, and n-6/n-3 ratio in eggs. The obtained results suggest that the use of algae extract and emulsifier in laying hens nutrition has the greatest impact on the FA profile in the eggs.