Investigation of the Effects of Using Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Egg Quality in Functional Egg Production

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Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have many beneficial effects on health such as lowering the level of inflammatory agents, stimulating fat oxidation in adipose tissue and reducing body weight, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, regulating blood glucose level and increasing insulin sensitivity. However, the intake of omega-3 fatty acids with a normal diet is often insufficient to meet the daily requirement. In this case, besides food supplements, functional foods enriched with omega-3 are an important alternative as an omega-3 source, such as eggs and animal meat. Omega-3 enriched eggs are usually obtained from chickens fed feeds enriched with omega-3 sources. Among these sources, flaxseed, fish meat and fish oil, chia seeds, various microalgae and their combinations used in different proportions can be cited. While the alpha linolenic acid content is higher in flax and chia seeds, fish oil and microalgae have higher levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It has been observed that the chicken eggs fed with feeds enriched with algae generally have higher fatty acids, antioxidants and carotenoids. However, some studies have reported that chicken eggs fed seafood and flaxseed have a fishy odor or taste. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to examine and evaluate the changes in egg composition of different chicken feed combinations and to determine the closest option to optimum feed content. The results of this study revealed that enrichment of chicken feeds with a combination of seafood and oilseeds can increase the sensory acceptability.