Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of red pepper (Capsicum frutescens) powder or red pepper pigment on the performance and egg yolk color of laying hens. In Exp. 1, 210, thirty-wk old, Hy-line Brown laying hens were fed one of seven diets containing 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.0, 4.8 or 9.6 ppm red pepper pigment or 0.3 ppm carophyll red. Each diet was fed to three replicate batteries of ...

Despite considerable research on hormone-mediated maternal effects in birds, the underlying physiology remains poorly understood. This study investigated a potential regulation mechanism for differential accumulation of gonadal hormones in bird eggs. Across vertebrates, glucocorticoids can suppress reproduction by downregulating gonadal hormones. Using the chicken as a model species, we therefo...

Pleurotus citrinopileatus is a popular edible mushroom in Korea due to their bright color, unique flavor and texture. This study was initiated to evaluate the effects of feeding dietary P. citrinopileatus fruiting bodies on plasma and feces biochemical and on the liver histopathology in hypercholesterolemic rats. Six-week old female Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three groups of 1...

In this study, 100 day-old broiler chicks were divided into two groups, A and B containing 50 birds each. Experimental infection with E. coli was given intra yolk to group A on day-1 of experiment, while group B was kept as control. Parameters studied were examination of yolk sac, yolk sac:body weight ratio, antibody titer against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and analysis of fractional serum p...

Intravenous infusion of 500 ml of 6% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, average molecular weight 40,000) in isotonic saline solution daily for 2 days induced prompt and significant reductions in serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in eight hyperlipidemic patients. Mean maximal decrements in serum cholesterol and triglyceride were 29% and 28% below control values, respectively, occurring 5...

Riboflavin-binding protein (RBP) and phosvitin are phosphoglycoproteins transferred from the plasma of laying hens into the yolk of developing oocytes. We have examined the effect of phosphate removal on this yolk deposition process. Unmodified yolk RBP and phosvitin contain, respectively, 8.3 and 109 residues of phosphate/molecule. Complete dephosphorylation of yolk RBP caused a 20-min decreas...

Chick embryo development is associated with an accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipid tissues making them susceptible to lipid peroxidation. It has been accepted that canthaxanthin has high antioxidant capacity. Research findings have repeatedly indicated that feeding 25(OH)D3 (25-hydroxycholecalciferol), to poultry breeders, broilers and layers increased performance and health. T...

In order to elucidate the physiological function of circulating IGF-I on muscle protein synthesis in the chicken under malnutritional conditions, we administrated recombinant chicken IGF-I using a osmotic mini pump to fasted young chickens and measured the rate of muscle protein synthesis and plasma metabolite. The pumps delivered IGF-I at the rate of 22 μg/d {300 μg⋅(kg body weight⋅d)}. Fracti...