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Designer eggs and poultry meat as functional foods - An overview

Article · April 2019

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Sireesha Pulla Jammula Sai Prasanna

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 The Pharma Innovation Journal 2019; 8(4): 829-831

ISSN (E): 2277- 7695

ISSN (P): 2349-8242
NAAS Rating: 5.03 Designer eggs and poultry meat as functional foods –
TPI 2019; 8(4): 829-831
© 2019 TPI An overview
www.thepharmajournal.com
Received: 13-02-2019
Accepted: 15-03-2019 Dr. P Sireesha and Dr. Sai Prasanna
Dr. P Sireesha
Assistant Professor, Department Abstract
of Veterinary & Animal Poultry eggs and meat are a good source of essential nutrients. Designer food refers to the food that is
Husbandry Extension, NTR designed to have some health benefits other than its traditional nutritional value. In this review an attempt
College of Veterinary Science, has been made to focus on the different methods of improving the nutritional quality of poultry eggs and
Gannavaram, Andhra Pradesh, meat by enhancing levels of omega-3 fatty acids, anti oxidants, carotenoids, immunomodulators and
India lowering of cholesterol content.
Dr. Sai Prasanna
Keywords: Designer egg, designer meat, n-3 fatty acids enriched designer egg, anti oxidants in eggs
Assistant Professor, Department
of Animal Genetics and Breeding,
College of Veterinary Science, Introduction
Korutla, Telangana, India Indian poultry industry is expanding at a rapid rate to meet the increasing demand of the
consumers for egg and poultry meat. The poultry eggs and meat are nutrient rich foods which
are regarded as less expensive source of high quality protein with several other essential
nutrients.
In the recent years people have become more conscious of the relation between food and their
health. In this regard, they started to show more interest in the foodstuffs they consume, and so
also in the quality of poultry meat and eggs. Primarily, the main concern of consumers is that
the food they consume is safe and healthy, i.e. free of substances which could directly affect
their health (microorganisms, mycotoxins, pesticides, antibiotics, etc.). Secondly, consumers
have shown special interest in poultry products which have reduced content of substances
which can pose risk to human health which in turn developed production of poultry meat and
eggs with reduced fat and cholesterol content. In the third phase, consumers expect to derive
additional benefit by enriching with substances beneficial for their health and poultry meat and
eggs have huge potential in this aspect.
Designer food refers to the food that is designed to have some health benefits other than its
traditional nutritional value. ‘Designer food’, ‘functional food’ and ‘fortified food’ are
synonyms. Many authors define functional food as food containing active components which
exert positive effect on physiological processes in the individual and have beneficial effects on
human health because they reduce the risk of incidence of various diseases.
No other single food of animal origin is eaten by so many people all over the world compared
with the egg and none is served in such a variety of ways. Therefore, the ability of the egg to
be used as a functional food has been widely investigated because the egg composition can be
partly modified by changing the poultry feed.
Eggs can be designed through dietary approaches either by supplementation of specific
nutrients, or certain herbs or specific drugs that have functional and therapeutic properties. In
case of poultry, there are two types of value addition of products:
 Pre-slaughter value addition i.e. value addition before the product is produced. Products
like, designer / organic / functional eggs and meat fall under this category.
 Post-slaughter value addition i.e. value addition after the product is produced.
These types of value addition can be done mostly by combination of manage mental and
nutritional manipulations.
Correspondence
Dr. P Sireesha
Assistant Professor, Department Ways to produce designer eggs
of Veterinary & Animal  Inducing metabolic changes in the hen that can result in synthesis of compounds that
Husbandry Extension, NTR essentially end up in the egg.
College of Veterinary Science,  Change the characteristics of membrane transport to facilitate movement of compounds
Gannavaram, Andhra Pradesh,
India
into the egg.
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 Manipulate the diet of the hen such that the level of the Eugenol, Lumiflavin, Lutein, Sulforaphane, Taurine Eugenol,
desired compounds increase in the egg Lumichrome, Lycopene, Curcumin, Carnosine, Quercetin,
depending upon antioxidants of herbal origin used in hens'
Points to be considered before enriching eggs diet. Supplementation of these anti-oxidants in hens' diet will
 Efficiency of nutrient transfer from feed to the egg. increase their levels in the egg and meat.
 Availability of commercial sources of effective feed The advantages of enrichment of the egg and meat with anti
forms of the nutrient oxidants include:
 Possible toxic effects of nutrients for the laying hens (Ex: 1. Decreased susceptibility to lipid peroxidation
Vitamin A and D are toxic for chickens at high levels) 2. Prevention of fishy taint to the product
 Amount of nutrient delivered with an egg in comparison 3. Designer foods could be a good source of antioxidants in
with Recommended Dietary human diet
Allowance (RDA). 4. Prevents destruction of fat-soluble vitamins and natural
 Established health promoting properties of nutrients and fat-soluble pigments
their shortage in modern diet. For designer egg/meat production, vitamin E and organic
selenium are added as anti-oxidants at levels of 200-400
 Possible interactions with assimilation of other nutrients
mg/kg and 0.1-0.3 ppm respectively. Besides these, other anti-
from the egg.
oxidants such as chemicals and herbs may be added, to
 Stability during cooking.
prevent oxidative rancidity.
Dietary manipulations to produce designer eggs
Lowering Cholesterol Content
Dietary manipulation is the major step in producing the
A large egg contains about 200 mg of cholesterol and chicken
preslaughter value added poultry products.
meat contains about 60 mg per 100 g. Research towards
lowering egg cholesterol has been concentrated mostly on
Omega-3 Fatty acids enrichment
dietary and pharmacological interventions. Chromium,
The total fat content in the egg yolk cannot be altered but its
copper, nicotinic acid, statins, garlic, basil (tulasi), plant
fatty acid composition can be altered, by changing the type of
sterols, n-3 PUFA supplementation to chicken feed will
oil used in the hens' diet. Omega-3 fatty acids are a group of
reduce the yolk and carcass cholesterol levels significantly.
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) also known as n-3 fatty
acids. Majority of birds and animals including human beings
Enrichment with Carotenoids
cannot synthesize these n-3 fatty acids, hence they are dietary
Carotenoids occur naturally in egg yolk in varied amounts
essential. Sources of Omega-3 fatty acids are fish oil, linseed/
depending on hen’s feed. Deep yellow or orange colour yolks
flaxseed & oils, rapeseed / canola & oils, safflower oil,
and yellow skin broilers are preferred over pale yolks and
soyabean oil and marine algae.
skin. Feed fortification with natural sources such as Marigold,
Unfortunately, the foodstuffs rich in these n-3 fatty acids
Alfalfa extracts are sources of lutein. Other sources such as
namely linseed and fish oils have undesirable flavor and
Corn and Red pepper provide zeaxanthin and capsanthin
consistency, hence not relished commonly by human beings.
respectively. Lycopene is a hydrocarbon carotenoid reported
They can be made acceptable by incorporating these
to have strong antioxidant properties effective in reducing the
beneficial n-3 fatty acids into eggs.
risk of prostate carcinoma. Although lycopene is not usually
found in eggs, lycopene enrichment can be achieved via feed
Clinical Significance of Omega-3 Fatty acids
fortification with tomato powder and lycopene could reduce
Research on the various health benefits of dietary omega-3
yolk lipid peroxidation. Besides providing attractive colour,
fatty acids has shown that these fatty acids reduce plasma
they act as anti-oxidants and anti-carcinogenic agents. Some
triglycerides, blood pressure, platelet aggregation, thrombosis
of the pigments have vitamin A activity. For example, the
and atherosclerosis particularly in diabetics, tumor growth,
lutein which safeguards the retina.
skin disease, supresses inflammatory process and enhance
immunity. In designer eggs the n-6 / n-3 PUFA ratio is
Enrichment with Immunomodulators
decreased to about 1.5 from as much as 20 in regular eggs.
Chicken egg is abundant in antibodies like "IgY" which is
Without any change in the sensory quality of the egg this
cheaper and better than mammalian immunoglobulin "IgG".
change in designer eggs will supply about 50% of the daily
This "IgY" can be used to treat human rotavirus, E.coli,
requirement of n-3 PUFA ratio to the consumer. Since n-3
Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Salmonella
fatty acid enriched eggs will undergo rancidity quickly, it is
infections.
necessary to prevent the rancidity of the designer egg yolk
The IgY level in the egg can be increased by dietary
lipids, by incorporating anti-oxidants in the hens' diet and
manipulations. The functional feed rich in omega - 3 fatty
extend the shelf life of the product.
acids and anti-oxidants itself will increase the IgY level in the
egg. Herbal supplementation will further boost the IgY level
Anti Oxidants in eggs and meat
in the egg Among the herbs, Basil leaves (Tulasi) is having
Egg is a rich source of natural antioxidants like vitamin-E,
the highest ability to boost the IgY level in the egg. Other
selenium, carotenoid pigments, flavonoid compounds, lecithin
herbs like Rosemary, Turmeric, Garlic, Fenugreek, Spirulina,
and phosvitin. These compounds protect the fat-soluble
Aswagantha, Arogyapacha etc also possess immuno
vitamins and other yolk lipids from oxidative rancidity.
modulating properties.
However, these levels are not sufficient to protect the designer
eggs rich in n-3 PUFA. Hence it is essential to increase the
Conclusion
anti-oxidant levels in the designer eggs. The designer egg and
Poultry eggs and meat are a good source of essential nutrients.
meat, not only contain high levels of the above antioxidants;
The egg is considered as nature’s most complete food
but also rich in herbal active principles like, Allicin, Betaine,
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The Pharma Innovation Journal

containing high quality proteins, a 2:1 ratio of unsaturated fats

to saturated fat, an excellent source of iron, phosphorus and
other minerals and all vitamins with the exception of vitamin
C. Although the best source of all the vital nutrients, high
cholesterol content is the major constraint for egg consumers.
The development of nutrient enriched value added poultry
eggs and meat greatly increased the context of functional
foods for human health. By manipulating the diet of chicken
with nutritional interventions like supplementation of
chromium, copper, herbs, probiotics, n-3 fatty acids,
antioxidants etc. value added and health promoting chicken
egg, meat and their products can be made available to the
consumers. The designing must take into consideration the
production facilities, available materials, technical know-how,
economic resources of the producers and environmental
impacts with welfare issue.

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