Effects of different levels of Portulaca oleracea seed in laying hens diets containing rice bran on performance, egg quality, fatty acids, and cholesterol

This research was conducted to determine the effects of different levels of Portulaca oleracea (purslane) seed supplementation in laying hens diet based on rice bran on performance and egg quality. A total of 120 41-week-old Leghorn hens were randomly allotted to six treatment groups (four replicates of five hens each) with a completely randomized design. The experimental diets were composed of control diet (corn, soybean meal, and 15% rice bran) and different levels of purslane seed (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25%), which were replaced with corn and soybean meal. The results of this study showed that egg production, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight, shell thickness, and yolk height were not significantly affected by different levels of purslane seed (P > 0.05). Yolk cholesterol was significantly decreased by increasing purslane seed (P < 0.05). Adding more than 15% purslane seed significantly increased albumen height and Haugh unit (P < 0.05). The hens were fed 15%, or more purslane seed laid eggs with significantly higher (P < 0.05) linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids (linolenic). By increasing purslane seed for more than 10%, the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 will be decreased (P < 0.05). Regression analysis of fatty acid content of yolk showed that the optimum effect of purslane seed on linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, linoleic acid, and omega-6/omega-3 of egg yolk was achieved by including 20 and 21% purslane seed to laying hens diet.