Digital gene-expression of alfalfa saponin extract on laying hens

Digital Gene-Expression Profiling Analysis of the Cholesterol-Lowering Effects of Alfalfa Saponin Extract on Laying Hens

BACKGROUND To prevent cardiovascular disease, people are advised to limit their intake of dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg/day. Egg consumption has been seriously reduced because of the high levels of cholesterol. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the cholesterol-lowering effects of alfalfa saponin extract (ASE) in yolk and the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects...

Effects of alfalfa saponin extract on the performance and cholesterol metabolism of laying hens

The Effect of Vitex Agnuse Castus Fruit Powder on Hypothalamic GnRH Gene Expression in Laying Hens

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a key regulatory molecule of the hypothalamus–pituitary gonadal axis which induces transcription of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary. Research has shown that estrogen plays an important role in regulating GnRH. Also, recent experiments indicated that Vitex agnus-castus (VAC) has high levels of phytoestrogen. Hence, this research was p...

Behavior of laying hens on alfalfa crumble molt diets.

Several dietary alternatives to feed withdrawal have been proposed to induce a molt in laying hens. This study compared the behavior of laying hens on an alfalfa crumble diet (ALC) to hens that were either on a conventional layer diet (FF) or hens that had feed withdrawn (FW) during a 9-d trial. Each treatment consisted of 24 hens (3 hens per battery cage), and treatment began after a 2-week ac...

Organ weight and serum triglyceride responses of older (80 week) commercial laying hens fed an alfalfa meal molt diet.

Since one of the costs in the commercial egg industry is that of replacement pullets, commercial egg layer managers have opted to induce molt older hens in order to extend their productive life for additional egg laying cycles. Conventional molt induction involves the complete removal of feed for several days. However, this management practice can lead to deleterious physiological responses by ...