Research note: Dietary curcumin cocrystals enhance egg quality and lipid metabolism in laying hens

Linglian Kong; Qi Zhang; Zeming Wang; Hamada Okasha; Zhigang Song

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2025.105540

Research note: Dietary curcumin cocrystals enhance egg quality and lipid metabolism in laying hens

Poult Sci. 2025 Jul 5;104(10):105540. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105540. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Linglian Kong¹, Qi Zhang², Zeming Wang², Hamada Okasha³, Zhigang Song⁴

Affiliations

¹ Office of Assessment, Jining Polytechnic, Jining, Shandong, 272037, China; College of Geodesy and Geomatics, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, 266590, China.
² Cocrystal Technology Co., Ltd, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, 314000, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Non-grain Feed Resources (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Efficient Feeding, Department of Animal Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, 271018, China; Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Moshtohor, 13736, Egypt.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Non-grain Feed Resources (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Efficient Feeding, Department of Animal Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, 271018, China. Electronic address: zhigangs@sdau.edu.cn.

PMID: 40633310
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105540

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary curcumin cocrystals on laying performance, egg quality, and lipid metabolism in laying hens. A total of 900 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, aged 43 weeks, were randomly divided into three groups, each consisting of 10 replicates with 30 hens per replicate. Each group received a diet supplemented with 0, 8.5, or 25 mg/kg curcumin cocrystals for four weeks. The results indicated that hens fed 25 mg/kg curcumin cocrystals exhibited significantly higher egg weight and eggshell strength compared to those fed 0 or 8.5 mg/kg (P < 0.05). The administration of 25 mg/kg curcumin cocrystals significantly reduced serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and aspartate aminotransferase (P < 0.05), as well as abdominal fat weight and percentage (P < 0.05), in comparison to the control group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 25 mg/kg curcumin cocrystals enhanced egg quality and improved lipid metabolism in laying hens.

Keywords: Curcumin cocrystal; Egg quality; Laying hens; Laying performance; Lipid metabolism.