DOI: 10.11118/nutrinet2026_017

NUTRITIONAL STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE EGG QUALITY: THE ROLE OF HEMP AND FLAX SEED SUPPLEMENTATION IN LAYING HENS

Jan Szmek^1,2, Michaela Englmaierová², Tomáš Taubner², Eva Pěchoučková^1,2, Věra Skřivanová²

¹ Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague – Suchdol, Czech Republic

² Department of Nutrition Physiology and Animal Product Quality, Institute of Animal Science, v. v. i., Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague – Uhříněves, Czech Republic

This study evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with hemp seed and flax seed on laying hen performance, egg quality traits, yolk nutritional composition, and oxidative stability. A total of 240 Lohmann Brown laying hens were assigned to 4 dietary treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with two levels of non-psychoactive hemp seed (Futura variety; 0 and 40 g/kg) and two levels of non-extruded flax seed (Floral variety; 0 and 40 g/kg). The experiment lasted 12 weeks. The inclusion of flax seed significantly increased both hen-day egg production (p < 0.001) and egg mass (p < 0.001), while the addition of hemp seed resulted in a higher total egg mass (p < 0.001). Laying hens fed the flax seed-enriched diet exhibited a lower feed conversion ratio. The combined hemp seed and flax seed supplementation significantly increased egg weight (p = 0.002) and shell percentage (p = 0.036). The inclusion of hemp seed significantly elevated yolk γ-tocopherol concentrations (p < 0.001) and reduced total cholesterol (p = 0.042) and malondialdehyde levels in fresh yolks (p = 0.003), indicating improved oxidative stability. Both seed supplements and their combination increased the content of n-6  (p = 0.022) and n-3 (p < 0.001) polyunsaturated fatty acids. In particular, the levels of α-linolenic (p < 0.001) and eicosapentaenoic (p < 0.001) acids were elevated. These changes resulted in a more favorable n-6/n-3 ratio, which was significantly affected by both hemp seed and flax seed supplementation (p < 0.001). In addition, all dietary treatments significantly affected the nutritional lipid quality indices, namely the index of atherogenicity and the index of thrombogenicity (p < 0.001). These findings highlight the potential of combined hemp seed and flax seed supplementation as a novel nutritional strategy for producing eggs enriched with health-promoting bioactive compounds and improved nutritional quality.

Klíčová slova: oilseeds; tocopherols; n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids; nutritional indices; oxidative stability

stránky: 154-167, online: 2026