Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Effect of Male Accessory Gland Products on Egg Laying in Gastropod Molluscs
Published on: June 22, 2014
Choline supplementation alters egg production performance and hepatic oxidative status of laying hens fed
Joseph A Yonke1, Gita Cherian1
1Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
Abstract:
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of choline as a means of increasing docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3, DHA) deposition in egg yolks of hens fed a high-DHA microalgae product. Fifty-six, 26-wk-old, White Leghorn hens were kept in individual cages and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments, each with 7 replicate groups of 2 hens (n = 7 per treatment). The experimental diets were corn and soybean meal based, with 0% microalgae (control), 1% microalgae and no additional choline chloride (Alg), and Alg plus choline chloride at 0.1% (Ch0.1) and 0.2% (Ch0.2). The feeding trial lasted 16 wk. The data were fit as a general linear mixed model to generate least square means in response to diet. Variables measured multiple times during the study were fit as repeated measures. Using orthogonal contrasts, Alg was compared to control, and Ch0.1 and Ch0.2 were compared separately to Alg. Ch0.1 increased hen day egg production (P < 0.05) and Haugh unit (P < 0.05), and reduced feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05) compared to Alg, but Ch0.2 did not. Alg increased egg DHA (P < 0.001), phosphatidylethanolamine (P < 0.05), and phosphatidylcholine (P < 0.001) compared to control, but Ch0.1 or Ch0.2 had no effect compared to Alg (P > 0.05). In the liver, Alg increased lipid peroxidation products compared to control (P < 0.01), and Ch0.1 reduced them compared to Alg (P < 0.01). Both Ch0.1 and Ch0.2 increased hepatic concentrations of γ- (P < 0.05; P < 0.001) and α-tocopherol (P < 0.01; P < 0.001), and Ch0.1 increased γ-tocopherol concentration in eggs compared to Alg (P < 0.05). The results from the current study suggest that supplemental choline chloride in hen diets containing microalgae can improve production performance and egg quality, and protect the liver from oxidative stress.
Related Concept Videos
Alkynes to Carboxylic Acids: Oxidative Cleavage
Oxidations of Aldehydes and Ketones to Carboxylic Acids
Aldehydes readily undergo oxidation in strong oxidizing agents such as potassium permanganate and chromic acid. The oxidation can also be carried out using mild oxidizing agents such as silver oxide. In fact, aldehydes can be easily oxidized...
Laying Concrete Masonry
Mortar application focuses on the face shells of the blocks, the sides that face outward,...
Products of the Citric Acid Cycle
Oxidation of Alkenes: Anti Dihydroxylation with Peroxy Acids
Drug Product Performance: In Vitro–In Vivo Correlation

