Eggs and poultry meat as tocopherol sources in dependence on tocopherol supplementation of poultry diets

Abstract

One feeding trial with broilers and three feeding experiments with layers were carried out to investigate the influence of various vitamin E supplementations on α-tocopherol concentration of foods of poultry origin. Vitamin E content of basal diets amounted to ≈20 mg per kg feed; 0, 100, 1000, 10 000 and 20 000 mg vitamin E per kg feed were added. Broilers were fed for 30 days and slaughtered, layers were kept for one laying year (13×28 days), eggs were collected daily. Vitamin E concentration was determined in muscle (breast, legs), liver, fat and eggs by HPLC. Tocopherol concentration increased with vitamin E supplementation in all samples. The highest tocopherol concentration was measurement in egg yolk (254.9) followed by liver (44.8) and muscle (12.2 mg/100 g). Vitamin E supply of poultry feed depends on costs of vitamin E and financial benefits for the farmer.