Fatty Acid Enrichment in Poultry Nutrition

Enriching poultry diets with specific fatty acids has emerged as a dual‐purpose strategy to enhance bird performance and produce animal‐derived foods with improved nutritional value. By incorporating sources rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids—such as microalgal biomass, flaxseed, rapeseed and pomegranate seed oil—researchers have demonstrated targeted increases in n-3 and conjugated fatty acids within egg yolk and muscle lipids. These dietary manipulations can improve growth rates, feed efficiency and bone integrity in broilers, while simultaneously delivering eggs and meat with higher concentrations of docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. Optimising antioxidant co-supplementation further protects enriched lipids from peroxidation, ensuring product stability and extending shelf life. Such functional feeding approaches not only address consumer demand for healthier products but also contribute to global strategies in combating cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Studies have shown that combining vegetable by-products rich in fatty acids and antioxidants in layer diets markedly enriches egg composition. One investigation demonstrated that a diet containing flaxseed meal with sea buckthorn meal more than septupled α-linolenic acid levels in egg yolk and quadrupled docosahexaenoic acid, while reducing thrombogenicity indices and boosting total polyphenol and antioxidant capacities. These functional eggs represent a viable route to deliver health-promoting lipids to consumers without compromising laying performance.

Fatty Acid Enrichment in Poultry Nutrition publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fatty acid enrichment in poultry nutrition across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

n-3 fatty acids: Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids with the first double bond three carbons from the methyl end.
n-6 fatty acids: Polyunsaturated fatty acids with the first double bond six carbons from the methyl end.
PUFAs: Fatty acids containing more than one double bond, critical for membrane structure and signalling.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA): A 22-carbon n-3 PUFA important for neural development and cardiovascular health.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): A 20-carbon n-3 PUFA involved in anti-inflammatory pathways.
Conjugated linolenic acid (CLnA): Isomers of linolenic acid with conjugated double bonds, linked to metabolic benefits.
Thrombogenicity index: A calculated ratio predicting the propensity of dietary fats to promote blood clot formation.
Atherogenicity index: A measure of a fat source’s potential to induce atheroma formation, based on the proportions of specific saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

References

1. Supranutrition of microalgal docosahexaenoic acid and calcidiol improved growth performance, tissue lipid profiles, and tibia characteristics of broiler chickens. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology (2023).
2. Yolk Fatty Acid Profile and Amino Acid Composition in Eggs from Hens Supplemented with ß-Hydroxy-ß-Methylbutyrate. Foods (2023).
3. Enriching laying hens eggs by feeding diets with different fatty acid composition and antioxidants. Scientific Reports (2021).