The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of L-carnitine and sunflower oil (SFO) on performance, egg quality and antioxidative ability of laying hens. A total of two hundred and eighty eight 27-week-old healthy Hyline laying hens with similar egg production rate and weight were selected as experimental animals and divided into 4 dietary groups. Each group consisted of 6 replicates of 12 hens each. The hens in the control group were fed basal diet, and the others in the experimental groups were fed diets supplemented with 3% SFO, 3% SFO+200 mg/kg L-carnitine, and 3% SFO+400 mg/kg L-carnitine, respectively. The experiment lasted for 6 weeks. The results showed as follows: 1) dietary SFO and L-carnitine had no significant effects on performance of laying hens (P>0.05). 2) Supplementation of 3% SFO in diets significantly decreased Haugh unit (P<0.05) compared with the control group at the 6th week, and dietary L-carnitine relieved the negative effects; SFO had no significant effects on eggshell strength at the 6th week, but dietary L-carnitine significantly increased the eggshell strength (P<0.05) and had a trend to increase the albumen height (P=0.06) compared with the control group. 3) The total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) in serum of hens was decreased significantly (P<0.05) and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum was increased significantly (P<0.05) when SFO was supplemented, but the bad influences were also eliminated when L-carnitine was added in diets. SFO didn’t influence the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum (P>0.05), but significantly increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum (P<0.05). Supplementation of 400 mg/kg L-carnitine in diets significantly increased the activity of SOD in serum (P<0.05), but didn’t influence the GSH-Px (P>0.05) in serum at the 6th week. In conclusion, supplementation of 3% SFO in diets decreased the egg quality and antioxidative ability of laying hens, while L-carnitie supplementation relieved the adverse effects of oxidative stress and enhanced the egg quality of laying hens.［Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition, 2011, 23（7）：1201 -1208］
XU Shaohui,ZHANG Ya’nan,WU Shugeng,ZHANG Haijun,QI Guanghai
. Effects of L-carnitine on Egg Quality and Antioxidative Ability of Laying Hens Fed Diets Supplemented with Sunflower Oil[J]. Chinese Journal of Animal Nutrition, 2011
, 23(07)
: 1201
-1208
.
DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-267x.2011.07.019
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