Borassus aethiopum Ripe Fruits’ Dried Pulp as Egg Yolk Coloration Agent

The essay assessed Borassus aethiopum (B.a) ripe fruits’ dried pulp effect on egg yolk coloration. First, thirty-six Harco laying hens, 42 weeks old with similar weight (α=0.05) were allotted in 12 cages of 4m2 (2m x 2m, respectively for length x width) each. Second, 4 laying hens’ diets were formulated; a yellow corn-based diet (YC), a white corn-based diet (WC), a white corn-based diet supplemented with 10% of B.a mature fruits’ dried pulp (WC+10%B.a), and finally a white corn-based diet supplemented with 20% of B.a ripe fruits’ dried pulp (WC+10%B.a). During the evaluations, similar eggs for weights were analyzed. As a result, rich pigment diets formed a group and produced the heaviest egg yolk compared to the WC diet, for 13.94+0.16 g versus 13.64+0.16 g. Whereas, WC diet delivered the heaviest albumin weights, 31.92+0.33 g versus 29.27+0.33 g for WC+10%B.a which had the lightest weight. Looking at eggs’ yolks color, Roche yolk color fan distinguished just 2 levels whose were the pale egg yolk from WC graded 1, and the intense colored yolks group graded 6. A spectrophotometer reflectance method helped for better yolks color distinctions. The yolks’ yellow colors from WC+10%B.a (b*=52.29), WC+20%B.a (b*=52.49) and YC (b*=52.22) were similar (p=0.7278). But, the WC+10%B.a diet egg yolk color was significantly higher than that of WC (b*=20.70; p<0.0001). In conclusion, Borassus aethiopum mature fruits’ dried pulp can be incorporated into laying hens feed as natural pigments’ source.