Gamma-linolenic acid egg production enriched with hemp seed oil and evening primrose oil in diet of laying hens.

This study was carried out to find out the effect of supplying gamma linolenic acid (GLA) on laying performance and egg quality. A hundred twenty of 30 weeks old hyline brown laying hens with 98% of egg production were completely randomized to 4 different treatment groups by 30 hens (the control group fed with the diet containing beef tallow, 3 treatment groups fed with the diet containing corn oil, the diet containing hemp seed oil and the diet containing evening primrose oil, respectively), and their laying performance and egg production were investigated for 5 weeks. Intake of hemp seed oil or evening primrose helped to increase the retention rate of GLA, which was transmigrated into eggs from blood. GLA was not detected in the blood samples of control group and treatment group fed diet containing corn oil, while it was significantly increased in the blood samples of the treatment groups fed with diet containing hemp seed oil and diet containing evening primrose oil, respectively. GLA retention was not observed in the eggs produced respectively by control group and treatment group fed with diet containing corn oil, whereas it was significantly increased in the eggs produced by the treatment group fed with diet containing hemp seed oil by 1.09% and the treatment group fed with diet containing evening primrose oil by 4.87%. This result suggests that GLA-reinforced functional eggs can be produced by adding hemp seed oil and evening primrose oil to the feed for laying hens and feeding them with it. It is thought that further researches and clinical trials on biochemical mechanism related to atopic dermatitis should be conducted in future.