Abstract
Egg is an encapsulated source of macro and micronutrients that meet all requirements to support embryonic development until hatching. The perfect balance and diversity in its nutrients along with its high digestibility and its affordable price has put the egg in the spotlight as a basic food for humans. However, egg still has to face many years of nutritionist recommendations aiming at restricting egg consumption to limit cardiovascular diseases incidence. Most experimental, clinical, and epidemiologic studies concluded that there was no evidence of a correlation between dietary cholesterol brought by eggs and an increase in plasma total-cholesterol. Egg remains a food product of high nutritional quality for adults including elderly people and children and is extensively consumed worldwide. In parallel, there is compelling evidence that egg also contains many and still-unexplored bioactive compounds, which may be of high interest in preventing/curing diseases. This review will give an overview of (1) the main nutritional characteristics of chicken egg, (2) emerging data related to egg bioactive compounds, and (3) some factors affecting egg composition including a comparison of nutritional value between eggs from various domestic species.
Highlights
In 1968, the egg industry had to face American Heart Association recommendations that encouraged people to consume less than three whole eggs per week claiming that high dietary cholesterol equals high blood cholesterol and higher cardiovascular disease risks
Yolk is a complex milieu containing 68% low-density lipoproteins (LDL), 16% high-density complementary proteomic approaches, nearly 1000 different proteins have been identified in the lipoproteins (HDLs), 10% livetins and other soluble proteins, and 4% phosvitins
In addition to egg proteins displaying a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities that could contribute to intestine health, many efforts have been made in the last decades to further characterize biological activities of egg-derived hydrolytic peptides that may naturally occur during the digestive process [20,22]
Summary
In 1968, the egg industry had to face American Heart Association recommendations that encouraged people to consume less than three whole eggs per week claiming that high dietary cholesterol equals high blood cholesterol and higher cardiovascular disease risks. It is well established that egg can contribute to overall health across the life span, people suffering from metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension still need to take caution with their dietary cholesterol intake [8] Another concern relates to egg allergy, which is a common infant food allergy with a prevalence estimated to be between 1.8% and 2% in children younger than five years of age. It is noteworthy that major proteins, essentially as the proteinase inhibitor ovomucoid, and major egg-white ovalbumin resist thermal heating [23,24]. Egg-white proteins such as the proteinase inhibitor ovomucoid, and major egg-white ovalbumin This observation is interesting, knowing that egg-derived proteins and many hydrolytic resist thermal heating [23,24]. Defense, immune-regulation, and normal body functioning [28]
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