Effect dietary choline supplementation on egg quality and serum biochemical profile in White Pekin Ducks

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of choline in diet (a TMA precursor) on egg quality, serum biochemistry and presence of off flavour in eggs of White Pekin Ducks. 30 White Pekin ducks (45 weeks age) housed in individual cages were subjected to three dietary treatment groups and were. The dietary treatment groups consisted of two levels of choline as TMA precursor viz; 3g/kg diet, 6g/kg diet and a control diet devoid of choline. The results revealed highly significant (P<0.0001) effect of choline on yolk weight and HU than the control. However the other egg quality traits i., e egg weight, albumen weight, shell weight, albumen index, yolk index, shape index, shell thickness were not influenced. Serum cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly (P<0.0001) reduced in high choline group (6g/kg diet) followed by low choline group (3g/kg diet) and control. The liver enzymes (SGPT and SGOT) were significantly lower (P<0.0001) in both the supplemented groups as compared to control. No significant effect was found for serum total protein and serum glucose levels. Presence of off flavour (fishy flavour) was more evident in the eggs of choline group (6g/kg diet) than the control group. It can be concluded that the presence of choline in the diet had minimal effect on the egg quality parameters of Pekin ducks except for yolk weight and albumen quality, however there was significant reduction in serum total cholesterol and triglycerides levels.