Carotenoids are one of the widespread and ubiquitous lipid‐soluble pigments that produce a wide range of colours which are universally found in various plants, microalgae, bacteria and fungi. Recently, interest in using carotenoids as feed ingredients has increased markedly owing to their bioactive and health‐promoting properties. In terms of applications, carotenoid‐rich products are widely available in the form of food and feed additive, supplements and natural colourants. Carotenoids play a versatile biological role that contributes to therapeutic effects, including anticancer, immunomodulators, anti‐inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic and neuroprotective. Dietary supplementation of carotenoids not only improves the production performance and health of poultry birds, but also enhances the quality of egg and meat. Several studies have suggested that the supplementation of plant derived carotenoids revealed numerous health‐promoting activities in poultry birds. Carotenoids reduce the oxidative stress in pre‐hatched and post‐hatched birds through different mechanisms, including quench free radicals, activating antioxidant enzymes and inhibiting the signalling pathways. Use of carotenoids in poultry feed as a part of nutrient that confers bird health and improve product quality. Carotenoids play a critical role for the pigmentation of egg yolk, skin, legs, beak, comb, feather and fat. Birds consumed carotenoid deficient diet resulting hues of their egg yolk or pale coloured skin. Therefore, uniform pigmentation generally indicates the health status and quality of the poultry products. This review aims to gather recent information regarding bioactive properties of carotenoids and highlight pharmaceutical and health beneficial effects of carotenoids for the poultry industry. Additionally, it explores the importance of carotenoids as alternative feed ingredients for poultry to boost the production performance and replace synthetic medicine and nutrients.

中文翻译：

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类胡萝卜素的健康益处和在家禽业中的潜在应用：综述。

类胡萝卜素是一种广泛存在的脂溶性色素，可产生多种颜色，广泛存在于各种植物、微藻、细菌和真菌中。最近，由于类胡萝卜素具有生物活性和促进健康的特性，人们对使用类胡萝卜素作为饲料成分的兴趣显着增加。在应用方面，富含类胡萝卜素的产品以食品和饲料添加剂、补充剂和天然着色剂的形式广泛使用。类胡萝卜素具有多种生物学作用，有助于治疗效果，包括抗癌、免疫调节剂、抗炎、抗菌、抗糖尿病和神经保护。日粮中添加类胡萝卜素不仅可以提高家禽的生产性能和健康，而且可以提高蛋和肉的质量。几项研究表明，植物来源的类胡萝卜素的补充揭示了家禽的许多促进健康的活动。类胡萝卜素通过不同的机制减少孵化前和孵化后鸟类的氧化应激，包括淬灭自由基、激活抗氧化酶和抑制信号通路。在家禽饲料中使用类胡萝卜素作为营养成分的一部分，赋予家禽健康和提高产品质量。类胡萝卜素对蛋黄、皮肤、腿、喙、梳子、羽毛和脂肪的色素沉着起着关键作用。鸟类食用缺乏类胡萝卜素的饮食导致它们的蛋黄或苍白的皮肤颜色。因此，均匀的色素沉着通常表明家禽产品的健康状况和质量。本综述旨在收集有关类胡萝卜素生物活性特性的最新信息，并重点介绍类胡萝卜素对家禽业的药物和健康有益作用。此外，它还探讨了类胡萝卜素作为家禽替代饲料成分以提高生产性能和替代合成药物和营养素的重要性。