Table 4.
Effect of different levels of dietary pomegranate peel on egg quality of laying hens subjected to oxidative stress.
| Parameter | Negative Control (−DEX) |
Positive Control (+DEX) |
2% (PPP + DEX) |
4% (PPP + DEX) |
p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EL (mm) | 55.4 ± 1.17 a | 53.0 ± 1.44 a | 55.1 ± 0.44 a | 55.3 ± 0.35 a | 0.315 |
| ED (mm) | 44.7 ± 0.40 a | 41.1 ± 2.23 a | 43.9 ± 0.97 a | 43.6 ± 0.68 a | 0.291 |
| ESI | 80.8 ± 1.23 a | 77.6 ± 4.20 a | 79.7 ± 2.29 a | 78.9 ± 1.68 a | 0.850 |
| YW (g) | 15.8 ± 0.29 a | 14.2 ± 0.31 b | 15.6 ± 0.40 a | 16.7 ± 0.37 a | 0.006 |
| AW (g) | 25.9 ± 0.24 a | 24.1 ± 0.43 b | 24.4 ± 0.4 b | 24.8 ± 0.47 ab | 0.044 |
| YH (mm) | 17.7 ± 0.28 a | 17.2 ± 0.11 a | 17.9 ± 0.43 a | 17.6 ± 0.34 a | 0.541 |
| YD (mm) | 41.5 ± 0.83 a | 40.1 ± 0.30 a | 41.5 ± 0.66 a | 40.7 ± 0.57 a | 0.373 |
| YI | 42.6 ± 1.53a | 42.9 ± 0.52 a | 43.0 ± 0.71 a | 43.2 ± 1.11 a | 0.955 |
| AH (mm) | 5.83 ± 0.06 a | 5.65 ± 0.27 a | 6.39 ± 0.30 a | 5.81 ± 0.30 a | 0.254 |
| HU (%) | 80.1 ± 0.42 a | 80.3 ± 1.82 a | 84.4 ± 1.92 a | 80.0 ± 1.83 a | 0.240 |
| SW (g) | 5.35 ± 0.05 a | 5.04 ± 0.04 b | 5.30 ± 0.04 a | 5.35 ± 0.01 a | 0.001 |
| ST (mm) | 0.35 ± 0.003 b | 0.34 ± 0.007 c | 0.37 ± 0.013 ab | 0.38 ± 0.009 a | 0.006 |
DEX, dexamethasone; PPP, pomegranate peel powder; EL, egg length; ED, egg diameter; ESI, egg shape index; YW, yolk weight; SW, shell weight; AW, albumen weight; YH, yolk height; YD, yolk diameter; YI, yolk index; SW, shell weight; ST, shell thickness; AH, albumen height; and HU, Haugh units. a–c Means within a column sharing a common superscript are not different (p ≤ 0.05) (n = 20 birds for each treatment).