Influence of Paprika Extract Supplement on Egg Quality of Laying Hens Fed Wheat-Based Diet

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of paprika extract (PE) on egg performance and egg quality of laying hens. A total of 960 fifty-three wk-old laying hens were randomly allotted into five groups and each of six replicates with 32 birds. The birds were fed wheat-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% PE respectively. The experiment lasted 4 weeks. RFC value linearly increased with an increase in dietary PE (P < 0.01) and achieved 9.9 when dietary PE added by 0.8%. L* value of egg yolk decreased with increase in dietary PE (P < 0.05), The a* value linearly increased with an increase in dietary PE (P < 0.01), while b* value unaffected (P<0.05). There were no effect of dietary PE on Haugh unit and cholesterol content in yolk (P<0.05). However, carotenoid content in yolk linearly increased with an increase in dietary PE (P < 0.01). No differences were observed in egg size, laying rate, feed intake and feed conversion among dietary treatments (P<0.05). The results indicated supplementation of paprika extract significantly improved egg yolk color when hens fed wheat-based diet and yolk coloration could reach an ideal grade when paprika extract added by 0.8%.