Effect of Supplementation of Chromium and Spirulina on Quality and Cholesterol Profile of Chicken Eggs

A trial was conducted for a period of 45 days in factorial (3x3) model to study the effect of three dietary levels of supplemental organic form of chromium (0.0, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg) each with three levels of Spirulina (0.0, 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg) in order to produce egg with low cholesterol. Seventy two White Leghorn (WLH) laying hens were randomly divided into nine equal groups and housed in individual cages from where records for each bird were collected. Egg production, feed intake, yolk cholesterol and plasma lipids were evaluated at the end of the experimental feeding. No differences were found in feed intake, egg weight and egg production. Yolk cholesterol showed a dose dependent reduction (P≤0.01) due to supplementation of spirulina. The level of plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and VLDL as well as blood glucose, mostly followed a similar trend of gradual reduction for interaction of spirulina and chromium, although the values were statistically similar. A combination of spirulina (1g kg⁻¹) and chromium (2 mg kg⁻¹) produced lowest total yolk cholesterol (157.2 mg) with a reduction of more than 35% compared to the content of a normal egg (213 mg). Thus, the combination of spirulina and chromium may be used for production of low cholesterol containing egg without affecting the production performance of laying hens.