The Effects of pigments extracted from red bell pepper compared with the synthetic pigments Canthaxanthin on performance and shelf life of egg in laying hens

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of pigments extracted from Red bell Pepper with the synthetic pigments (Canthaxanthin) on performance and egg quality of laying hens. A total of 64 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens at 75 weeks of age, were randomly divided into four equal groups each with 4 replications. A completely randomized design with 4 treatment and 4 replications in each treatment was conducted to study the effects of 4 treatments including: 1- control diet (without addition of any pigments), 2- control diet 25 mg/kg synthetic red Canthaxanthin pigments, 3- control diet 15 mg/kg extracted pigments from red bell pepper, and 4- control diet 30 mg/kg extracted pigments from red pepper. Extraction of pigments from red pepper was carried out using Hexane solvent and subsequently saponified by KOH. The results showed that egg production and egg quality were not affected by any of the treatments but the index of yolk color was significantly higher in laying hens fed either natural or synthetic pigments compared to control (P