Effects of a mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde supplementation on laying performance, egg quality, and antioxidant status in laying hens

Background: This study aimed to determine the effects of a mixture of glycerol monolaurate and cinnamaldehyde (GCM) supplementation on the laying performance, egg quality, antioxidant capacity, and serum parameters of laying hens. A total of 1120 14-week-old Jingfen-1 strain laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: control, and GCM groups supplemented with 250, 500, or 1000 mg kg^-1 for 12 weeks.

Results: Compared with the control group, GCM-supplemented groups significantly reduced (P < 0.05) the rate of unqualified eggs of laying hens aged 17-24 weeks. Supplementation of GCM significantly increased (P < 0.05) yolk color and serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity but decreased (P < 0.05) the hydrogen peroxide (H₂ O₂ ) content in the serum of laying hens at the age of 20 weeks. Furthermore, groups supplemented with GCM showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in Haugh unit, yolk color, activities of total superoxide dismutase and GSH-Px, and the glucose content in serum, and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the content of urea nitrogen and H₂ O₂ and malondialdehyde in serum of laying hens at the age of 24 weeks. 500 mg kg^-1 GCM supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) the number of large white follicles and 1000 mg kg^-1 GCM supplementation decreased the number of large yellow follicles in 28-week-old laying hens.

Conclusion: These results indicated that GCM supplementation has positive effects on reducing egg loss and improving egg quality in the early laying period of laying hens. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.