Effects of Ginseng By-Products on Performance, Egg Quality, and Physiological Responses in Heat-Stressed Laying Hens

This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with ginseng cultivation by-products on productive performance, egg quality, blood characteristics, immune responses, and stress indicators in laying hens exposed to high ambient temperature. A total of 120 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (32 weeks old) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments for 6 weeks: a control diet (CON), a diet supplemented with 0.5% ginseng berry (GB), a diet supplemented with 0.5% ginseng leaf and stem (GLS), and a diet containing 0.5% GB and 0.5% GLS (GB + GLS). Hens were fed 120 g of feed per day with free access to water and were exposed to an ambient temperature of 28—30°C with 80—90% relative humidity for 6 h daily. Egg production and egg weight were recorded throughout the experiment, and egg quality was evaluated at 2-week intervals. At the end of the trial, blood samples were collected from eight hens per treatment. Dietary supplementation with ginseng by-products did not significantly affect egg production, egg weight, egg quality traits, yolk fatty acid composition, or hematological and serum biochemical parameters (P>0.05). Serum IgG concentrations were not different among treatments, whereas IgA and IgM differed among groups (P<0.05). Serum corticosterone concentrations tended to be lower in ginseng-supplemented groups than in the control group. These results indicate that ginseng by-products do not adversely affect productive performance or egg quality in laying hens under high ambient temperature, while limited changes were observed in certain immune parameters.