The effects of carotenoids in quail breeder diets on egg yolk pigmentation and breeder performance

Carotenoid enrichment in eggs: From biochemistry perspective

The emergence of safe and functional eggs for consumer acceptance has gained focus. The production of carotenoid-enriched eggs has received attention due to its multifunctional biological properties. Nutritional modification of laying hens' diet can be a strategy to produce such eggs. This review presents the chemistry of carotenoids in nature and eggs, the accumulation process of carotenoids into eggs, and the functions of carotenoids in eggs. Our findings showed that carotenoids can be deposited into the egg and contribute to improving its nutritive value. The biosynthesis, chemical structure, and metabolism pathways of carotenoids lead to the deposition of carotenoids into eggs in their original or metabolized forms. Also, some factors modulate the efficiency of carotenoids in fowls before accumulation into eggs. Carotenoid-enriched eggs may be promising, ensuring the availability of highly nutritive eggs. However, further studies are still needed to comprehend the full metabolism process and the extensive functions of carotenoids in eggs.

Potential of sea buckthorn-based ingredients for the food and feed industry – a review

Abstract

Food industries seek to incorporate nutritious ingredients as they could bring added value to the final food products. One of the most interesting options is that sea buckthorn contains high concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, tocopherols, and other bioactive compounds, in addition to the unique lipid profile in the berry pulp, seed, and peel. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art of potential applications of sea buckthorn within the food and feed industry based on previously described applications. Products such as cheese, yoghurt or beverages already benefit from its application. Moreover, using sea buckthorn in feed products also derives into higher quality final products (e.g. meat quality, egg quality). Poultry, pig, and fish farming have been studied for that purpose. Despite all the accumulated articles depicted in the present review, the use of this fruit in food product formulation is nowadays scarce. New options for food product development with sea buckthorn are herein discussed.

Graphical abstract