Work

Dietary inclusion of beetroot (Beta vulgaris): Impacts on egg production, egg quality, and physiological status of commercial laying hens

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of dietary beet root powder (BRP; Beta vulgaris ) supplementation on egg production, egg quality, and physiological status of commercial laying hens. A total of 108 ISA Brown hens (40 weeks old) were randomly allocated into three dietary treatments: a control group (basal diet without BRP), BRP-0.5% (basal diet with 0.5% BRP), and BRP-1% (basal diet with 1.0% BRP) for eight weeks. Each treatment included 36 hens, divided into four replicates of nine birds. Supplementation with 1% BRP significantly ( P < 0.05) increased egg weight and egg mass compared with the control, without altering hen-day egg production, external, and internal quality of eggs. Meanwhile, BRP-1% improved the feed conversion ratio ( P < 0.05) without affecting the feed intake. Fatty acid analysis revealed a significant reduction ( P < 0.05) in total saturated fatty acids, particularly in palmitic acid (C16:0) in the BRP-1% group. Moreover, BRP-1% showed a significant increase ( P < 0.05) in linolenic acid (C18:3, omega-3) and total omega-3 fatty acids relative to the other groups. Amino acid profiling showed the highest rise in glutamic acid, with BRP-1% significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than the control. Additionally, BRP-1% supplementation significantly reduced ( P < 0.05) serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels contrast to the control and BRP-0.5% groups. Finally, this study suggests that 1% BRP supplementation can be applied in laying hen diets to improve egg quality, egg yolk fatty acid profile, and lipid metabolism of laying hens without compromising health and egg production.

Source: Veterinary and Animal Science

DOI: 10.1016/j.vas.2025.100559