Sixty Hy-line brown hens were randomly assigned to four barns (n = 4) to investigate the effects of cholecalciferol (vitamin D₃) versus 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25-OH-D₃) enriched diets on egg vitamin D concentration, antioxidant activity and egg quality parameters. Experimental design was a 4 × 4 Latin square consisting of 4 experimental treatments and 4 experimental periods. The treatments were (1) 1500 IU of vitamin D₃ (2) 3000 IU of vitamin D₃ (3) 1500 IU of vitamin D₃ and 37.5 μg of 25-OH-D₃ (4) 75 μg of 25-OH-D₃ per kg of feed. Hens offered 75 μg of 25-OH-D₃ had a higher (P < 0.05) total vitamin D egg yolk content (5.06 μg/egg), and antioxidant activity compared to other dietary treatments. The results demonstrates that the enrichment of hen diets with 25-OH-D₃ may be a useful approach and may contribute between 25 and 33% towards total vitamin D daily requirements while also improving antioxidant status of eggs.

Industrial relevance

Vitamin D deficiency is now regarded as a major issue in northern Europe and has been described as a pandemic. A growing interest in vitamin D food fortification in northern Europe to satisfy the current dietary intake recommendations has been observed. The use of a bio-addition approach for increasing vitamin D intake through biofortification of livestock feeds attracts attention. Enrichment of the hen's diet with vitamin D may also supply additional benefits of increasing antioxidant activity. This increase in antioxidant activity may have the ability to increase food quality and extend the shelf life. This study explores the effect of vitamin D enriched diets fed to laying hens on vitamin D egg yolk content and antioxidant activity in the egg. These enriched diets could demonstrate that enrichment of hen diets with 25-hyroxvitamin D₃ may be a useful approach for tackling low vitamin D intakes and improving antioxidant capacity of eggs.

中文翻译：

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蛋鸡中胆钙化醇和25-羟基维生素D ₃丰富的饮食潜力，可提高鸡蛋中维生素D的含量和抗氧化剂的利用率

将60只Hy-line棕色母鸡随机分配到四个谷仓（n  = 4）中，研究胆钙化固醇（维生素D₃）与富含25-羟基维生素D ₃（25-OH-D₃）的饮食对鸡蛋维生素D浓度，抗氧化活性的影响和鸡蛋质量参数。实验设计是一个4×4的拉丁方，由4个实验处理和4个实验周期组成。处理方法是（1）1500 IU维生素D₃（2）3000 IU维生素D₃（3）1500 IU维生素D₃和37.5μg25-OH-D₃（4）每公斤75毫克25-OH-D₃喂养。母鸡提供75μg的25-OH-D₃的含量更高（P <0.05）维生素D蛋黄总含量（5.06μg/蛋），与其他饮食疗法相比具有抗氧化活性。结果表明，用25-OH-D₃富集母鸡日粮可能是一种有用的方法，可为每日总维生素D需求贡献25％至33％，同时还改善了鸡蛋的抗氧化状态。

行业相关性

维生素D缺乏症现在被认为是北欧的主要问题，并被描述为大流行病。在北欧，人们对满足当前饮食摄入建议的维生素D食物强化的兴趣日益浓厚。通过对牲畜饲料进行生物强化来增加维生素D摄入量的生物添加方法引起了人们的关注。补充维生素D丰富母鸡的饮食还可以提供增加抗氧化活性的其他好处。抗氧化剂活性的这种增加可能具有提高食品质量和延长保质期的能力。这项研究探索了饲喂蛋鸡的富含维生素D的饮食对鸡蛋中维生素D蛋黄含量和抗氧化活性的影响。