Enhancing Laying Hens' Egg Quality and Health with Se-Enriched Earthworm Hydrolysate

Area of Science:

• Animal Nutrition and Feed Science
• Biochemistry and Physiology
• Food Science and Technology

Background:

• Organic selenium (Se) enhances animal production and human nutrition.
• Earthworms convert inorganic selenium into organic forms.
• Se-enriched earthworm hydrolysate (SEH) is a novel organic selenium source.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of SEH as an organic selenium source for laying hens.
• To compare SEH with Se-enriched yeast (SEY) in terms of selenium enrichment, laying performance, and health.
• To assess the impact of SEH on egg quality and hen physiological parameters.

Main Methods:

• Laying hens were fed diets supplemented with SEH (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 mg/kg) or SEY (0.3 mg/kg).
• Selenium concentrations in eggs and tissues were quantified.
• Laying performance, egg quality, serum biochemical parameters, immune indexes, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed.

Main Results:

• SEH significantly increased selenium levels in eggs, with faster enrichment compared to SEY.
• SEH improved laying performance by reducing feed intake to egg mass ratio and enhancing egg quality (shell thickness, yolk color, Haugh unit).
• SEH boosted hen health by increasing HDL-C, enhancing immune function (IgM), and improving antioxidant capacity (SOD), without adverse effects seen with SEY.

Conclusions:

• SEH is a highly effective organic selenium source for enhancing selenium enrichment in eggs.
• SEH improves laying hen performance, egg quality, and overall health status.
• SEH presents a promising alternative to SEY for selenium supplementation in poultry diets.