Pigmentation Potency of Xanthophyll Sources

INTRODUCTION ALFALFA meal, yellow corn meal and corn gluten meal provide the main pigmenting sources for broilers and eggs. With the advent of linear programming for least cost feed formulations it becomes especially important that the chemical analytical xanthophyll values for these three feed ingredients predict the relative pigmentation produced. Unfortunately the literature on broiler pigmentation shows considerable variation regarding the relative pigmentation potencies of alfalfa, yellow corn and corn gluten meals (Heiman, 1966). Broiler data showing that the potency of alfalfa meal varies from 30.7 to 75% of that of yellow corn meal have been reported based on xanthophyll analyses of the two types of products (Day and Williams, 1958; Ratcliff et al., 1959). Similar results have been obtained on egg yolk pigmentation (Sunde, 1962; Bartov and Bornstein, 1966). Among several possible reasons, the procedures used for the determination of xanthophylls are certainly an important factor contributing to this . . .