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Quality of Eggs in Different Production Systems: Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties
Quality of Eggs in Different Production Systems: Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties
1
Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Disorders, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey; 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey; 3Hiraogullari Poultry Co., Erzincan, Turkey
ABSTRACT
Yenice G., Kaynar O., Ileriturk M., Hira F., Hayirli A. (2016): Quality of eggs in different production
systems. Czech J. Food Sci., 34: 370–376.
This experiment was carried out to compare morphological egg quality parameters, as well as lipid and protein profiles,
of brown eggs laid by chickens reared under different production systems: cage, free-range, and family type. A total
of 270 brown eggs were obtained from commercial poultry companies raising Lohmann Brown laying hens in a cage
system and free-range unit as well as families possessing hens in their yards. The egg lipid and protein contents, as
well as lipid and protein profile, varied among the production systems. However, eggs from the free-range system had
similar characteristics to those from the cage system. Quality of eggs from the family type system was quite variable.
In conclusion, egg quality can be affected by the production system.
The egg is one of the cheapest and most commonly MATERIAL AND METHODS
consumed foods for human nutrition. The egg is rich
in high-quality protein. Moreover, it is an almost Egg samples. A total of 270 eggs, 90 from each of
complete vitamin and trace mineral source (Sparks the three systems, were collected from (1) a poultry
2006). The external and internal qualities of eggs farm with cage system, (2) a free-range poultry farm
are very important for consumer health and from with nest and 2 m 2 yard per bird, and (3) families
a marketing perspective. The egg yield and quality possessing chickens in their yard in two villages. Eggs
are affected by a number of factors, such as the type from the first two farms were collected from Lohm-
of husbandry system (Ozbey & Esen 2007; Radu- ann Brown hybrid chickens at the age of 40 weeks
Rusu et al. 2014). For instance, hens housed in large that were fed conventional feed formulated to meet
furnished cages had lower productivity and higher nutrient recommendations of the NRC (1994). Eggs
egg quality than those housed in small furnished and collected from the family type units were variable
conventional cages (Meng et al. 2014). in terms of breed, age, and dietary components of
Different husbandry systems are available in lay- the chickens.
ing hen breeding such as free-range, organic, cage, All eggs were stored at room temperature for 3 days
and furnished cage. The cage type is one of the most before performing morphological and biochemical
common husbandry systems, which is a controver- analyses. Morphological characteristics were deter-
sial subject among advocates for animal welfare and mined in individual eggs. For biochemical assays,
animal rights. The European Union banned battery fractions of three eggs were pooled in tubes. Thus,
cage husbandry of chickens in January 2012 for wel- sample sizes per group were 90 and 30 for morpho-
fare reasons (Leenstra et al. 2014). This experiment logical data and biochemical data, respectively.
was carried out to compare morphological egg quality Morphological measurements. The egg weight
parameters as well as egg lipid and protein profiles of was measured with an electronic balance to the near-
brown eggs collected from poultry farms with different est 0.01 g. The egg shape index (%) was calculated
production systems: cage, free-range, and family type. by the normal method of (diameter/height) × 100.
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Czech J. Food Sci., 34, 2016 (4): 370–376 Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties
doi: 10.17221/33/2016-CJFS
The eggshell strength (kg/cm 2) was measured using stacking and 10% resolving gel (Laemmli 1970). After
a cantilever system by applying increased pressure completion of running, proteins were treated with
to the broad pole of the shell using an instrument. Oriole fluorescent stain (Bio-Rad, Herkules, USA).
The egg yolk diameter, albumen length, and albumen The electrophoretograms were then visualised using
width (mm) were measured with a digital calliper. the GelDoc XR gel documentation system (Bio-Rad,
The albumen and yolk height (mm) was measured USA) and were analysed by the ImageLab 5.2 software
using a tripod micrometer. (Bio-Rad, USA).
The yolk (YI) and albumen (AI) indices were cal- High performance thin layer chromatography.
culated using the following formulae as described An n-hexane/isopropanol (500 µL) mixture at a 3 : 2
by Doyon et al. (1986): ratio (v/v) was added to 1000 µl of yolk homog-
enates in Eppendorf tubes. After vigorous vortex-
YI = (yolk height/yolk diameter) × 100 ing the tubes were centrifuged at 5000 g at +4°C
AI = [albumen height/(albumen length + albumen for 5 min and the upper phases were used for the
width)/2)] × 100 chromatographic analysis of yolk lipids (Hara &
Radin 1978). A standard lipid mixture (cholesteryl
The Haugh Unit (HU) score was calculated using oleate, triolein, palmitic acid, cholesterol, glyceryl
the formula as described by Haugh (1937): monooleate, and l-α-phosphatidylcholine) and yolk
extracts were spotted on the high performance thin
HU = 100 × log (H + 7.5 – 1.7W0.37) layer chromatography (HPTLC) plates and developed
with an n-hexane/diethyl ether/formic acid mixture
where: H – albumen height (mm); W – egg weight (g)
(80 : 20 : 2) (v/v/v). Then the entire plate was dipped in
The eggshell thickness was measured after remov- 10% CuSO4 (w/v), in 8% H3PO4 (v/v) and lipid classes
ing the internal membranes of the eggshell, using were visualised by charring the plates at 120°C. Egg
a micrometer which has the precision of 0.01 mm. yolk lipids were separated into the following classes:
Measurements were taken at three regions (middle cholesterol esters (CE), triacylglycerols (TAG), free
and two ends) of the shell and then averaged. The fatty acids (FFA), cholesterol (COL), monoacylglyc-
yolk colour was determined according to Roche yolk erols (MAG), and phospholipids (PL).
colour fan. The HPTL chromatograms were analysed as de-
Isolation and homogenisation of egg yolk and scribed by Kaynar et al. (2013) and results were
albumen. The eggshell was broken manually and the obtained as percentage of individual lipid class in
albumen was transferred into pre-weighed Falcon the total lipid composition.
tubes. The yolk was washed gently with distilled Determination of triacylglycerol and total pro-
water and rolled on Whatman filter paper to remove tein concentrations. One ml of triacylglycerol (TAG)
the albumen residue. Then the yolk membrane was reagent [4-chlorophenol 3.5 mM, ATP > 0.5 mM,
punctured with a sterile pipette tip and the yolk magnesium salt 10 mM, 4-aminophenazone 0.3 mM,
transferred into another pre-weighed Falcon tube. microbial glycerol kinase > 250 U/l, microbial glycerol
The egg component (1 g) was mixed with 2.5 ml of phosphate oxidase > 4500 U/l, horseradish peroxidase
solubilisation buffer (1% SDS, 0.5% Triton X100, > 2000 U/l, microbial lipase > 200.000 U/l, buffer
0.5 M Tris HCl, pH 6.8) and then homogenised at (pH 7.3), sodium azide (0.01%)] was added to 100 µl
3000 oscillations/min, +4°C, for 1 min using a ho- of yolk samples. After incubating for 30 min, absor-
mogeniser (Tissuelyser LT; Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). bance of yolk samples was read at 505 nm (Fossati
The homogenates were aliquoted into Eppendorf & Prencipe 1982). Results were calculated using a
tubes and stored at –86°C until biochemical analyses. standard TAG solution (50 mg/dl) and expressed as
Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel gram of TAG per 100 gram of yolk weight (g/100 g).
electrophoresis. Protein samples were diluted at For the total protein (TP) analysis, albumen and
1 : 9 with Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide yolk samples (100 µl) were mixed with 0.5 ml of so-
Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) denaturing elec- dium deoxycholate (10%) and 0.5 ml of TCA (10%).
trophoresis sample buffer and 10 μl of the mixture The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 30 min and
was loaded into each well. The electrophoresis was then centrifuged at 5000 g at +4°C for 5 minutes.
carried out in Tris-glycine-SDS running buffer at The precipitates were dissolved in 5.0 ml of 0.1 N
20 mA/gel constant current for 90 min using 4% NaOH and 5.0 ml of alkaline copper reagent was
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Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties Czech J. Food Sci., 34, 2016 (4): 370–376
doi: 10.17221/33/2016-CJFS
Production system
Parameter
cage free-range family type
a b
Egg weight (g) 62.53 ± 0.51 58.14 ± 0.39 54.02 ± 0.81c
a a
Shape index (%) 77.74 ± 0.24 78.01 ± 0.25 74.55 ± 0.40b
Eggshell weight (g) 7.66 ± 0.07a 7.44 ± 0.09a 6.62 ± 0.11b
b a
Eggshell weight (%) 12.28 ± 0.22 12.81 ± 0.14 12.31 ± 0.16b
Shell stiffness (kg/cm2) 2.70 ± 0.12a 2.85 ± 0.10a 2.13 ± 0.12b
Eggshell thickness (mm) 0.39 ± 0.002a 0.39 ± 0.003a 0.35 ± 0.04b
b b
Yolk colour 10.36 ± 0.09 10.42 ± 0.07 11.85 ± 0.21a
Yolk index (%) 41.89 ± 0.26a 40.77 ± 0.22b 40.57 ± 0.38b
Albumen index (%) 6.00 ± 0.16 5.68 ± 0.17 6.05 ± 0.24
Haugh unit 70.10 ± 0.89a 67.81 ± 0.99ab 66.65 ± 1.48b
Different superscripts among columns differ (P < 0.05); all the values are expressed as mean ± SE, n = 90 per group
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Czech J. Food Sci., 34, 2016 (4): 370–376 Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties
doi: 10.17221/33/2016-CJFS
Table 2. Effect of different production systems on the lipid and protein contents of eggs
Production system
Parameter
cage free-range family type
Albumen total protein (g/100 g) 10.72 ± 0.05c 11.01 ± 0.05b 11.75 ± 0.06a
Yolk total protein (g/100 g) 14.23 ± 0.06c 15.25 ± 0.07b 16.55 ± 0.05a
Yolk triacylglycerol (g/100 g) 20.31 ± 0.18c 21.44 ± 0.14b 23.19 ± 0.17a
Fractions of yolk lipids
– CE (%) 4.78 ± 0.06c 5.86 ± 0.06b 12.82 ± 0.05a
b a
– TAG (%) 63.14 ± 0.10 64.26 ± 0.10 55.00 ± 0.08c
– FFA (%) 1.67 ± 0.04b 1.51 ± 0.02c 2.36 ± 0.03a
b b
– COL (%) 14.86 ± 0.06 14.96 ± 0.07 16.70 ± 0.07a
– MAG (%) 2.56 ± 0.03b 2.87 ± 0.03a 2.66 ± 0.03b
a b
– PL (%) 12.99 ± 0.07 10.54 ± 0.05 10.46 ± 0.05b
Different superscripts among columns differ (P < 0.05); all the values are expressed as mean ± SE, n = 30 per group; CE – cho-
lesterol esters; TAG – triacylglycerol; FFA – free fatty acids; COL – cholesterol; MAG – monoacylglycerol; PL – phospholipids.
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Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties Czech J. Food Sci., 34, 2016 (4): 370–376
doi: 10.17221/33/2016-CJFS
DISCUSSION
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Czech J. Food Sci., 34, 2016 (4): 370–376 Food Technology and Economy, Engineering and Physical Properties
doi: 10.17221/33/2016-CJFS
Welfare is critical for poultry production (Blokhuis The highest egg yolk and albumen protein concentra-
1994). The cages, while the most feasible system for tions and the highest egg yolk total lipid concentrations
hen housing, negatively influence the welfare of hens were determined in eggs of family type hens while the
(Appleby 1993; Craig & Swanson 1994), because lowest values were in cage hens. When the lipid profiles
hens are not able to express natural behaviours in- of egg yolk were analysed, the highest percentage of
cluding nesting, roosting, and scratching (Nicol FFA, with the lowest percentage of TAG and PL, were
1987; Baxter 1994). When a bird is first exposed to determined in family type eggs. Moreover, the highest
unfavourable environmental conditions, physiologi- FFA/TAG, MAG/TAG ratios with the highest total
cal stress occurs and the hypothalamic-pituitary- triacylglycerol concentration were in family type eggs.
adrenal cortical system is activated by the action of When considering only the lipid profile, the increase
catecholamines. Secretion of the adrenocorticotropic in the percentages of lipolysis end-products includ-
hormone triggers the release of corticosterone (CS) ing FFA and MAG, with a decrease in the percentage
from the adrenal cortex (Romero & Butler 2007; of TAG, suggested a stress related lipolysis profile in
Virden & Kidd 2009), which reduces the synthesis family type eggs. However, when the lipid profiles
and increases the degradation of proteins in skeletal were evaluated with the concentration of TAG, it was
tissues (Puvadolpirod & Thaxton 2000) and in- considered that the changes in lipid profiles were re-
creases the rate of gluconeogenesis (Virden & Kidd lated to the physical activity of animals rather than to
2009). Moreover, CS assists catecholamines to initi- stress. Besides, despite the balanced diet, the poorest
ate lipolysis and increase fat deposition (Virden & eggs were in cages when considering the total lipid and
Kidd 2009). The rate of free fatty acid release from protein concentrations of all groups.
adipose tissue is affected by many hormones that
influence either the rate of esterification or the rate
of lipolysis. Insulin inhibits the release of free fatty CONCLUSSION
acids from adipose tissue, which is followed by a fall
in circulating plasma free fatty acids. It enhances In summary, egg lipid and protein contents, as well as
lipogenesis and the synthesis of acylglycerol. Besides, lipid and protein profile, varied among the production
epinephrine, norepinephrine, adrenocorticotropic systems (Figures 1–6 and Table 2). However, contrary
hormone (ACTH), and corticosterone accelerate the to expectations, eggs from the free-range system had
release of free fatty acids from adipose tissue and raise similar characteristics to those from the cage system.
the plasma free fatty acid concentration by increas- Therefore, the free-range system does not always
ing the rate of lipolysis of the triacylglycerol stores. represent the better welfare because of cannibalism,
Glucocorticoids also promote lipolysis via synthesis lack of feed, diseases, parasites etc., which can affect
of new lipase protein (Murray 2009). These data the quality of eggs. On the other hand, the best egg in
indicate that the blood chemistry of birds is tightly terms of the nutritional value was from family-type
associated with animal welfare. Thus, stress factors chickens living in their natural environment. The most
in relation to the production system alter blood striking egg quality parameter in eggs collected from
protein and lipid levels of hens (Puvadolpirod & different production system was yolk colour, which
Thaxton 2000; Virden & Kidd 2009). in part could also be due to variations in breed and
The chemical content of the egg is directly linked age of hens and diets consumed. However, as only
to the blood chemistry of hen. Egg yolk lipids such as one farm was sampled for each production system,
glycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol – cholesterol the data should be used with caution.
esters, and other lipids (Christie & Moore 1972b)
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Meng F., Chen D., Li X., Li J., Bao J. (2014): Effects of large or Received: 2016–01–29
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Corresponding author:
Ass Prof Guler Yenice, Ataturk University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Nutrition
and Nutritional Disorders, Erzurum, Turkey; E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
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