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Effect of feeding inulin oligosaccharides on cecum bacteria,
egg quality and egg production in laying hens
Park, Sang-Oh and Park, Byung-Sung*
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Kangwon National
University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
bspark@kangwon.ac.kr.
Tel: 82-33-250-8615. Fax: 82-33-251-7719.
Accepted 30 April, 2012 |
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Inulin is reported to improve the egg quality and production
of laying hens. In the present study, we investigated the
dietary effects of microcapsulated inulin oligosaccharide (INO)
which is manufactured from Jerusalem artichoke
(Helianthus tuberosus L.) on the cecum bacteria, egg
quality and production of laying hens. 400 laying hens were
randomly allocated to one of the following four treatment
groups for 10 weeks: T1 (control without INO or inulin), T2
(200 mg INO/kg diet), T3 (250 mg INO/kg diet) and T4 (300 mg
INO/kg diet). Egg production, Haugh unit, egg shell
thickness and breaking strength were significantly higher in
the T3 and T4 groups than in the T1 and T2 groups (P<0.05).
The level of egg cholesterol was highest in the T1 group and
decreased in the INO addition groups from 5.68 to 8.46%
(P<0.05). When compared with the T1, triglycerides in the
blood and total cholesterol decreased significantly in the
T2, T3 and T4 groups by 11.75 to 13.45% and 9.41 to 9.85%,
respectively (P<0.05). The growth of cecum
Bifidobacterium
and Lactobacillus was stimulated in the T2, T3 and T4
when groups compared with the T1 group, while the growth of
Escheria coli and Salmonella was clearly
inhibited (P<0.05). The results of this study demonstrate
that the addition of microcapsulated inulin oligosaccharide
(250 mg/kg) into a laying hen’s diet can promote the
multiplication of beneficial cecum bacteria and
simultaneously improve egg production and quality.
Key words:
Jerusalem artichoke, inulin oligosaccharides, egg quality,
cecum bacteria. |
