Studies on Egg Yolk Cholesterol

ALTHOUGH there are numerous reports indicating that the cholesterol content of hens’ eggs are relatively constant, the literature does not indicate any work wherein the variation of yolk cholesterol has been studied over the laying year. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fluctuations, if any, in yolk cholesterol of eggs laid by the same hens throughout the calendar months. The hens utilized in this experiment were members of the 1957–58 population described previously (Harris and Wilcox, 1963). Fifty pullets that were in production in August, 1957, were selected at random and two consecutively-laid eggs were collected from each of these hens bi-monthly from August through June on approximately the 15th of each month. The eggs were hard boiled the day after gathering and yolk samples individually frozen in screw-top vials of 0°F. until the end of the collection period. Twenty-four of the 50 hens provided …