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ABSTACT: Pu-erh tea theabrownins (TBs) exert beneficial effect on egg quality and antioxidant properties of eggs, but the underlying mechanisms behind this response are unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of TBs on egg antioxidative activity, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and the underlying relationship between the TBs and oxidant-sensitive Nrf2 signaling pathway in laying hens. Eighty layers were fed a basal diet (control) and 400 mg/kg of TBs supplemented diet for 12 wk. TBs led to an increase in albumen height and Haugh unit (P < 0.05). The albumen lysine, valine, and tryptophan were higher in layers fed TBs, whereas yolk tryptophan, methionine, vitamin A, and α-tocopherol content were enhanced by TBs (P < 0.05). Eggs albumen and yolk showed higher total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), reducing power (RP), and the scavenging rate of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH), and lower MDA content than those of eggs from the control group (P < 0.05). Also, magnum Nrf2, hemeoxygenase 1 (HO-1), NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 (NQO1), and Bcl2 expression were up-regulated by TBs, whereas magnum proapoptotic gene (Bax, caspase 3, Cyt C) were down-regulated by TBs (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that TBs improved egg albumen quality and antioxidant activity, and the Nrf2-ARE pathway were found to be involved in this process.

Poultry eggs are not only a source of nutrients for embryonic development, but also one of the main sources of food for humans. The demand for turkey eggs is increasing day by day due to their functional properties such as supporting muscle and cell formation and being beneficial to the immune and digestive systems. In addition, it contains essential elements such as iron at a reasonable level, which is among the reasons for the consumer's preference. The data on the element content of free-range turkey eggs, which is such an ancient food, is very scarce. This study focused on determining various element content of freerange turkey egg yolk and albumen by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Within the scope of the research, sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), boron (B), aluminum (Al), and lead (Pb) levels were determined in turkey egg yolk (n=52) and albumen (n=52) samples. Phosphorus was the most concentrated element in both egg yolk and albumen. Element contents in yolks were higher than those in albumen, except Na, K, B, Al, and Pb. The element with the lowest concentration was Al in turkey egg yolks, while Mg was the lowest analyzed element in albumens. This study separately exhibited the element content of turkey egg consumers in their preference for egg yolk or albumen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of @limentech: Ciencia y Tecnología Alimentaria is the property of Journal @limentech, University of Pamplona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study conducted a comparative analysis of the concentration of the lead (Pb) in the albumen and yolk of eggs from domesticated chicken, quail, and duck, with a concurrent assessment of the potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks associated with the consumption of eggs sourced from Türkiye. A total of 78 poultry egg samples were gathered from breeding farms and farmers' markets situated in Şanlıurfa province. Lead concentrations were assessed through inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Human health risk assessment adheres to the guidelines set forth by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), which primarily emphasizes estimated daily intake (EDI), international lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), target hazard quotient (THQ), and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) as a probabilistic approach. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to compare Pb concentrations within egg yolks and albumens, as well as among various types of eggs. The levels of Pb found in the albumen of chicken, quail, and duck eggs were measured to be 0.31 ± 0.11, 0.43 ± 0.11, and 0.47 ± 0.16 μg kg−1, respectively. The concentrations of Pb in the yolks of chicken, quail, and duck eggs were found to be 0.54 ± 0.19, 0.28 ± 0.11, and 0.69 ± 0.21 μg kg−1, respectively. These concentrations were below the maximum permitted levels set by the FAO/WHO. The results indicated that Pb content in all tested eggs was safe for consumption, with exposure levels significantly below Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) risk thresholds. The THQ values were less than one, indicating no non-carcinogenic risk. In addition, this study provides accurate and reliable data for policy makers to improve food safety measures and reduce potential public health risks. [Display omitted] • Eggs from chickens, quails, and ducks were analyzed for lead (Pb) concentration. • Lead levels were measured using ICP-OES. • Health risk assessment indicated Pb exposure from egg consumption is safe. • THQ values were below one, indicating no non-carcinogenic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment the effects of supplementation of the diet for laying hens with different doses of green tea (Camelia sativa) on egg quality were studied. Hens of laying hybrid Lohmann Brown (n=30) were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10) and fed for 16 weeks with diets with green tea powder supplemented. In the control group hens received feed mixture without any additives. The diets in the first and second treatment group were supplemented with 0.5% or 1.0% green tea powder. The egg weight (g), specific egg weight (g/cm3), egg yolk weight (g), egg yolk index, egg yolk color (°HLR), albumen weight (g), egg albumen index and Haugh units (HU) were evaluated. Results showed that the addition of green tea powder slightly decreased egg weight (P>0.05). Supplementation of the feed mixture with the green tea powder statistically significantly affected the albumen index in both groups compared to the control group (P

ABSTRACT: Chemerin is a hormone produced mainly by adipose tissue and liver. We have recently shown that it is locally produced in the reproductive tract in hens, particularly at the magnum level, leading to its accumulation in the egg albumen. We have also determined that chemerin is necessary for egg fertilization, embryo development, and angiogenesis within the chorio-allantoic membrane in chicken species. We, therefore, hypothesize that chemerin, widely present in various gallinacean species, could be a marker of egg fertility in this animal order. To demonstrate this, we used a model close to the hen: the pheasant. By RT-qPCR, we have shown that chemerin and its three receptors CMKLR1, GPR1, and CCRL2 are expressed in the reproductive tract of females. In addition, chemerin is also produced predominantly in the magnum and accumulates in the egg albumen as determined by immunoblot. We then compared two lines of pheasants with different reproductive characteristics: the F11 and F22 breeds. F22 lays more eggs than F11, but have significantly lower fertility and hatchability rates. In addition, F22 exhibit a significantly lower amount of chemerin protein in their magnum (P < 0.01) and in the egg albumen (P < 0.0001) compared to F11. Finally, we observed a positive correlation between the chemerin amount in the albumen of F11 eggs and the hatching rate of the eggs (r = 0.5; P = 0.04) as well as a negative correlation between the chemerin quantity in the albumen of F22 eggs and the rate of unfertilized eggs (r = −0.37; P = 0.04). Finally, chemerin system (ligand and receptors) is also expressed within embryo annexes (chorioallantoic and amniotic membranes) during incubation. These data demonstrate an interspecies conservation of chemerin production in the magnum, its accumulation in the egg albumen and its possible use as a marker for determining the quality of eggs in term of fertility and embryo development.

Organic-resistance random access memory has high application potential in the field of next-generation green nonvolatile memory. Because of their biocompatibility and environmental friendliness, natural biomaterials are suitable for the fabrication of biodegradable and physically transient resistive switching memory devices. A flexible memory device with physically transient properties was fabricated with silver ions and egg albumen composites as active layers, which exhibited characteristics of write-once-read-many-times (WORM), and the incorporation of silver ions improved the ON/OFF current ratio of the device. The device can not only complete the logical operations of "AND gate" and "OR gate", but its active layer film can also be dissolved in deionized water, indicating that it has the characteristics of physical transients. This biocompatible memory device is a strong candidate for a memory element for the construction of transient electronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce food-borne bacterial infection caused by food spoilage, developing highly efficient food packing film is still an urgent need for food preservation. Herein, microwave-assisted antibacterial nanocomposite films CaO 2 @PVP/EA/CMC-Na (CP/EC) were synthesized using waste eggshell as precursor, egg albumen (EA) and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC Na) as matrix by casting method. The size of CaO 2 @PVP (CP) nanoparticles with monodisperse spherical structures was 100–240 nm. When microwave and CP nanoparticles (0.05 mg/mL) were treated for 5 min, the mortality of E. coli and S. aureus could reach >97 %. Under microwave irradiation (6 min), the bactericidal rate of 2.5 % CP/EC film against E. coli and S. aureus reached 98.6 % and 97.2 %, respectively. After adding CP nanoparticles, the highest tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break (EB) of CP/EC film reached 19.59 MPa and 583.43 %, respectively. At 18 °C, the proliferation of bacterial colonies on meat can be significantly inhibited by 2.5 % CP/EC film. Detailed characterization showed that the excellent meat preservation activity was due to the synergistic effect of dynamic effect generated by ROS and thermal effect of microwave. This study provides a promising approach for the packaging application of polysaccharide- and protein-based biomass nanocomposite antibacterial edible films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the impacts of varying concentration of phospholipase A2 (PLA), protease and lipase enzyme-treated liquid egg white (LEW) were prepared using meringue batters. The gelling physico-chemical, and rheological properties such as rheological creep-recovery compliance behavior, color value (L*, a*, b*, ∆E*, Chroma, Hue and WI), gelling strenght, pH value, gelling index as TPA parameter and specific density of freshly prepared meringue batter were analyzed. The specific density of meringue batter of control (0.49 ± 0.01) was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) after enzyme treatments of PLA (0.39 ± 0.01), lipase (0.33 ± 0.01), and protease (0.37 ± 0.01). Also, the enzymatic treatment significantly decreased the b* values from − 0.08 ± 0.07 to − 0.76 ± 0.04, − 0.70 ± 0.06, and − 0.73 ± 0.03, respectively. The Burgers model was used to characterize rheological behavior of enzyme treated and freshly prepared meringue samples. Creep-recovery responses of samples were satisfactory (R2 > 0.99) for evaluation of creep-recovery behavior. This research points out the efficacy of lipase pre-treated LEW in meringue preparation on improving functionality such as batter density and gelling properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on fermentation time and the addition of milk powder to egg albumen is still limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity and chemical characteristics of fermented egg albumen using different levels of full cream milk powder and different microbial fermentation times. This study used a completely randomized factorial pattern design, 4 x 5 treatments with 4 replications. Research materials include egg albumen, full cream milk powder and mixed Lactic Acid Bacteria (L. bulgaricus, L.achidopillus, and Streptococcus thermopillus). The research treatments were the addition of powdered milk in different level (%) including, 0, 2, 4 and 6. Fermentation times were 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h, respectively. The results showed that the addition of powdered milk in different level and fermentation time had no significant effect on the antioxidant activity. The addition of different-level powdered milk was not significant on the glucose content and total protein, but it was very significant (P

The concept of complementary resistive switching (CRS) has been proposed as a potential solution for mitigating the unwanted sneak path current intrinsic to large-scale crossbar memory arrays. In this study, CRS devices based on egg albumen are fabricated using non-inert Al layers as the top electrodes (TE). The Al/Albumen/indium tin oxide (ITO) single sandwich structure achieves stable and reproducible CRS behavior without requiring a forming process. The application of a compliance current leads to an evolution from CRS to bipolar resistive switching (BRS). Furthermore, the BRS analog switching feature enables the emulation of synaptic functions, like paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and paired-pulse depression (PPD). Our systematic and in-depth analyses demonstrate that the CRS is due to the interfacial Schottky barriers originating from the Al electrode oxidation. Consequently, the resistance switching behavior in the albumen-based cells with inert Pt top electrodes can further validate this model. These findings provide significant insight into the role of non-inert electrodes and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the CRS mechanism, which may facilitate the development of high-performance CRS biodevices.

Organic-resistance random access memory has high application potential in the field of next-generation green nonvolatile memory. Because of their biocompatibility and environmental friendliness, natural biomaterials are suitable for the fabrication of biodegradable and physically transient resistive switching memory devices. A flexible memory device with physically transient properties was fabricated with silver ions and egg albumen composites as active layers, which exhibited characteristics of write-once-read-many-times (WORM), and the incorporation of silver ions improved the ON/OFF current ratio of the device. The device can not only complete the logical operations of “AND gate” and “OR gate”, but its active layer film can also be dissolved in deionized water, indicating that it has the characteristics of physical transients. This biocompatible memory device is a strong candidate for a memory element for the construction of transient electronic systems.

Mohammad Hasan Moshafi,1 Mehdi Ranjbar,1 Ghazaleh Ilbeigi21Pharmaceutics Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran; 2Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranBackground: Biotemplates are attractive templates for the synthesis of nanometals and inorganic compound nanostructures.Methods: In this work, for the first time, iron oxide quantum dot nanoparticles (QDNPs) were prepared using egg albumen as a biotemplate. Next, the prepared nanoparticles were characterized using dynamic light scattering for determination and evaluation of the hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of the particles. Moreover, optical and scanning electron microscopes were applied to evaluate morphology. Spherically shaped iron oxide QDNPs were obtained with appropriate particle size and distribution. Fe(NO3)3.9H2O and egg whites were used as the source of the Fe element and particle size control agent in the aqueous medium, respectively. Afterward, the effect of calcination temperature parameters on the crystallinity purity and size of Fe nanocrystals were investigated. Also, products were characterized by various detection analyses such as thermogravimetry analysis/DTA, XRD, UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR,) transmission electron microscopy, and SEM. In order to investigate the antibacterial effect of the synthesized Fe nanobiological samples against bacterial strains, they were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and diluted using distilled water. Then, different serial dilutions of 64 μg/mL, 32 μg/mL, 16 μg/mL, 8 μg/mL, 4 3BCg/mL, 2 μg/mL, 1 μg/mL, and 0.5 μg/mL of nanobiological samples were prepared and added to the Mueller–Hinton agar medium.Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration of the synthesized iron oxide quantum dot nanobiological was determined against pathogenic microbial strains of bacteria including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Klebsiella pneumonia on the culture medium plate.Conclusion: The present nanobiological samples can be considered as a new material candidate for antibacterial drugs.Keywords: iron oxide quantum dots, egg albumen, bio-template, antibacterial effect

The aim of the study was to evaluate egg quality traits in three heavy Japanese quail populations created and reared in the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Trakia University – Bulgaria, marked as WG, GG and GL. In the experiments, 160 female birds from populations WG and GG, and 96 birds from population GL were tested up to the 6th production month. The main egg quality traits were controlled. The highest average egg weight was registered in WG group and the lowest in GL group, 14.04±0.32 g and 12.79±0.29 g respectively (p

The current study tested the hypothesis that 1.0% dietary inclusion of L-glutamine (Gln), an non-essential amino acid that influences protein synthesis, can improve internal egg quality, including amino acids profile. Thirty-week-old Bovans Brown laying hens in their middle laying period were assigned to one of the two experimental groups (12 replicate cages, 2 hens/cage) with Gln in the form of alpha-ketoglutarate (10 g/kg) or without Gln inclusion. The experimental period lasted for 30 wks, from the 31st to the 60th week of age of hens, when eggs were collected and selected egg quality indices were determined. Gln supplementation had no effect on albumen and egg yolk share, albumen and yolk basal indices and composition, including yolk cholesterol content. However, Gln decreased the lipid content of the egg albumen (p < 0.001), and influenced albumen amino acid profile, increasing content of asparagine (p < 0.05), phenylalanine (p < 0.05), proline (p < 0.001), tryptophan (p < 0.01), and tyrosine (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the study shows a potential role of Gln supplementation for enhancing nutritional values of eggs by lower lipid content and higher amino acid profile.

Research on fermentation time and the addition of milk powder to egg albumen is still limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the antioxidant activity and chemical characteristics of fermented egg albumen using different levels of full cream milk powder and different microbial fermentation times. This study used a completely randomized factorial pattern design, 4 x 5 treatments with 4 replications. Research materials include egg albumen, full cream milk powder and mixed Lactic Acid Bacteria (L. bulgaricus, L.achidopillus, and Streptococcus thermopillus). The research treatments were the addition of powdered milk in different level (%) including, 0, 2, 4 and 6. Fermentation times were 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h, respectively. The results showed that the addition of powdered milk in different level and fermentation time had no significant effect on the antioxidant activity. The addition of different-level powdered milk was not significant on the glucose content and total protein, but it was very significant (P<0.01) on water content. The fermentation time had a very significant effect (P<0.01) on glucose levels and total protein, but it had no significant effect on the water content of albumen fermentation. Antioxidant activity did not change during the fermentation time and the addition of different-level milk powder. The 24 h fermentation time could reduce the total protein and glucose levels of egg albumen. Adding 2% milk powder could reduce the water content of egg albumen fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was aimed to develop natural red colorant powder from Hibiscus sabdariffa L. fruit using foam mat drying. Egg albumen (EA) at different concentrations (5–20% w/w) was used as a foaming agent, and samples were whipped for 10 minutes. The samples were hot air dried at 50°C for 6 hours. Effect of EA concentration on the foam properties and physicochemical properties of the powders were analyzed. In addition, the effect of temperatures (10–80°C) on color and rehydration characteristics of rehydrated powders were studied. The result showed that 15% EA concentration of foam mat dried H. sabdariffa L. powder has good quality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Chinese Society of Animal Science is the property of Chinese Society of Animal Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, a tuneable multilevel data storage bioresistive memory device is prepared from a composite of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and egg albumen (EA). By changing the concentration of MWCNTs incorporated into the egg albumen film, the switching current ratio of aluminium/egg albumen:multiwalled carbon nanotubes/indium tin oxide (Al/EA:MWCNT/ITO) for resistive random access memory increases as the concentration of MWCNTs decreases. The device can achieve continuous bipolar switching that is repeated 100 times per cell with stable resistance for 104 s and a clear storage window under 2.5 × 104 continuous pulses. Changing the current limit of the device to obtain low-state resistance values of different states achieves multivalue storage. The mechanism of conduction can be explained by the oxygen vacancies and the smaller number of iron atoms that are working together to form and fracture conductive filaments. The device is nonvolatile and stable for use in rewritable memory due to the adjustable switch ratio, adjustable voltage, and nanometre size, and it can be integrated into circuits with different power consumption requirements. Therefore, it has broad application prospects in the fields of data storage and neural networks.

ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to investigate the physicochemical and functional properties of fresh and pasteurized chicken and duck egg albumens. The results showed that pasteurization of both chicken and duck albumens significantly decreased (p≤0.05) viscosity, but had no impact (p>0.05) on pH or free sulfhydryl groups. Chicken albumen was shown to have higher (p≤0.05) foam expansion, but lower (p≤0.05) foam stability than duck albumen. Pasteurization decreased (p≤0.05) the foam expansion of both albumens while decreasing (p≤0.05) the foam stability only of duck albumen. Investigation of the gel properties showed that duck albumen has greater hardness and lower expressible water (p≤0.05) than chicken albumen. Pasteurization increased the hardness and decreased the expressible water of both the chicken and duck albumen gels. This study suggests that the superior gel properties of duck albumen offer potential approaches to improving the quality of gel food products.

The goal of this research was to determine the concentration of macro-, micro-, trace, and ultratrace elements in egg albumen and yolk of Green-Legged Partridge (GLP) hens (Polish native breed) maintained in a free-range system. The hens received two feed mixtures (FM), which differed in mineral content (Gr-1 and Gr-2). Analyses of 57 chemical elements were performed using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy by ICP-OES and ICP-MS techniques. FM from Gr-2 were characterized by a significantly (p < 0.05 or 0.01) higher concentration of macro- and microelements (Al, Ba, Ca, K, P, S, Si) than that from Gr-1. Among the trace and ultratrace elements there were significantly higher levels of Co, Cr, Li, Nb, Ni, Pb, Ru, Sn, and Zr, and significantly lower levels of Cs, Pd, and Te in Gr-2 compared with Gr-1. Egg albumen from hens from the Gr-2 group contained a significantly higher Ba concentration. In the case of trace and ultratrace elements, significantly greater Au, Co, Cr, Mo, Nb, Ru, and Se, and less As were recorded in the albumen from Gr-2. No significant differences were observed in the concentrations of macro- and microelements in the egg yolk. Among the examined trace and ultratrace elements, substantial differences were observed in the level of Co, Cr, Ni, Se, Sn, and Y (more in Gr-2), and Au, Hf, Hg, Nb, Nd, and Rb (less in Gr-2). Only in the case of Co and Cr concentrations in the feed (Gr-2) was a significant increase found in the albumen and yolk. Gr-2 also showed a significantly greater concentration of Ba, Nb, and Ru in the albumen, and Ni and Sn in the yolk.

• Pure egg albumin fiber successfully fabricated by coaxial wet-spinning. • The fiber exhibits good gloss and has stress. • Close-packing of the fiber in polysulfone template yields dense morphology. • Coaxial wet-spinning is simple and feasible for obtaining pure egg albumin fiber. Pure egg albumen fiber has potential applications in the food industry, biomedicine, drug-controlled release systems, and as a tissue engineering scaffold. However, this type of fiber has not been successfully prepared so far. In this study, pure egg albumen fiber was successfully prepared using the simple method of coaxial wet-spinning with a polysulfone (PSU) hollow fiber as a template. PSU solution and egg albumen solution were extruded into a coagulation bath of distilled water to fabricate egg albumen/PSU fiber, in which the egg albumen solution was wrapped up by the outside PSU layer. Continuous pure egg albumen fiber was obtained after heat treatment in hot water and removal of the PSU layer by dissolution in N, N -dimethylformamide. The prepared continuous egg albumen fiber with good gloss could be lifted along the axial direction. Scanning electron micrographs revealed a dense structure. This successful preparation of pure egg albumen fiber will enable the manufacture of egg albumen fiber composites with excellent application potential for tissue engineering scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to evaluate egg quality traits in three heavy Japanese quail populations created and reared in the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Trakia University - Bulgaria, marked as WG, GG and GL. In the experiments, 160 female birds from populations WG and GG, and 96 birds from population GL were tested up to the 6th production month. The main egg quality traits were controlled. The highest average egg weight was registered in WG group and the lowest in GL group, 14.04±0.32 g and 12.79±0.29 g respectively (p<0.05). The highest average Shape index was observed in group GG (78.31±0.53%), vs the lowest in WG quails (77.55±0.62%). Albumen proportion is almost 2/3 of egg mass, with average values from 57.14% in group WG to 59.90% in group GG. Yolk proportion was about 30%, with smaller differences between the groups. The shell share from all tested groups comprised between 10.95 and 12.58% of egg weight. Average shell thickness was the greatest in eggs of WG quails (223.53±5.52 µm), and the lowest - in GG quails (216.91±6.83 µm). Egg quality traits were typical for the meat productive type of Japan quails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LOC427400 is a novel bird gene located on chromosome Z of the chicken genome. It was deciphered in our previous study by RNA sequencing of different parts of the chicken oviduct. Here we confirmed that LOC427400 expressed significantly high in the magnum comparing with the ovary, isthmus, uterus, liver, jejunum and breast muscle (P<0.05) by quantitative real-time PCR in 5 White Leghorn layers at the age of 34 wk. The full length of transcript sequence of LOC427400 was also obtained by 3' and 5' RACE. The new transcript was 2831 bp and the corresponding translated protein was 343 aa. The predicted protein show 2 conserved domains, RICIN and OST-beta, which indicated that LOC427400 protein might have functions like carbohydrate-binding and signal transduction. This study illustrated that LOC47400 should be an important candidate gene related with the process of egg albumen formation and albumen biological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In oviparous species, physico-chemical characteristics of eggs are an indicator of maternal physiological traits and environmental conditions of the site where the females develop. In this study, we aim to (a) determine the physico-chemical characteristics of eggs from wild Caiman latirostris populations; (b) evaluate if fertile and infertile eggs differ in physico-chemical characteristics associated with suchest reproductive success; and (c) compare the present results with findings in other crocodilian species to identify characteristics that would be associated with reproductive biology and adaptations to their environments. Eggs were collected and identified, and different morphometric variables (percentage of components, and protein, total lipids and fatty acid composition) were determined. Fertile and infertile eggs did not differ in weight or component (eggshell, yolk and albumen) percentages of total egg weight. Fatty acid profiles of yolk differed between fertile and infertile eggs in C14:0, C16:1 and C17:1. However, the comparison of profiles among clutches showed differences in 12 fatty acids. We also observed differences in percentage of egg components respect to other crocodilian species, particularly of albumen, which had a lower proportion in C. latirostris . Our results suggest that egg infertility may not be related to maternal lipid investment. We propose using yolk of infertile eggs (which is similar to that of fertile eggs) as a non-invasive method to identify and evaluate the difference in FA composition of eggs for breedings female of varyns diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pu-erh tea theabrownins (TBs) exert beneficial effect on egg quality and antioxidant properties of eggs, but the underlying mechanisms behind this response are unclear. In this study, we investigate the effect of TBs on egg antioxidative activity, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and the underlying relationship between the TBs and oxidant-sensitive Nrf2 signaling pathway in laying hens. Eighty layers were fed a basal diet (control) and 400 mg/kg of TBs supplemented diet for 12 wk. TBs led to an increase in albumen height and Haugh unit (P < 0.05). The albumen lysine, valine, and tryptophan were higher in layers fed TBs, whereas yolk tryptophan, methionine, vitamin A, and α-tocopherol content were enhanced by TBs (P < 0.05). Eggs albumen and yolk showed higher total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), reducing power (RP), and the scavenging rate of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH), and lower MDA content than those of eggs from the control group (P < 0.05). Also, magnum Nrf2 , hemeoxygenase 1 ( HO-1 ), NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 ( NQO1 ), and Bcl2 expression were up-regulated by TBs, whereas magnum proapoptotic gene (Bax, caspase 3, Cyt C) were down-regulated by TBs (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that TBs improved egg albumen quality and antioxidant activity, and the Nrf2-ARE pathway were found to be involved in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used graphene oxide (GO) and egg albumen (EA) to fabricate bipolar resistance switching devices with indium tin oxide (ITO)/GO/EA/GO/Aluminum (Al) and ITO/EA/Al structures. The experimental results show that these ITO/GO/EA/GO/Al and ITO/EA/Al bio-memristors exhibit rewritable flash memory characteristics. Comparisons of ITO/GO/EA/GO/Al devices with 0.05 ωt %, 0.5 ωt %, and 2 ωt % GO in the GO layers and the ITO/EA/Al device show that the ON/OFF current ratio of these devices increases as the GO concentration decreases. Among these devices, the highest switching current ratio is 1.87 × 103. Moreover, the RESET voltage decreases as the GO concentration decreases, which indicates that GO layers with different GO concentrations can be adopted to adjust the ON/OFF current ratio and the RESET voltage. When the GO concentration is 0.5 ωt %, the device can be switched more than 200 times. The retention times of all the devices are longer than 104 s.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with two humic preparations, Humokarbowit (HKW) and Humobentofet (HBF), on the mineral content of the albumen and egg yolk of Lohmann Brown hens. The content of macroelements (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P, S), microelements (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, I, Mn, Si, Sr, Zn) and trace elements (Ag, As, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Ga, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sn, Ti, Tl, V, W, Y and Zr) in the feed mixture (FM), albumen and yolk were presented. The material was collected from laying hens kept in a cage system in two groups, control (C) and enriched (E), with standard feed and feed enriched with humic preparations, respectively. The enriched feed mixture was characterised by a significantly higher Ag, Ba, Be, Bi, Co, Fe, Ga, Hg, K, Mg, Ni, S, Sb, Si, Zn and Zr content compared to the standard, basal mixture. Only some of these elements were found in significantly increased levels in albumen (Bi, Co, Ni, S) and yolk (Bi, Fe, K, Sb). Another noteworthy finding was a significantly lower concentration of Na in the content of eggs from the E-Group, which corresponds to the content of this important macronutrient in the feed. In addition, a significant increase in the concentration of elements such as Al, I, Li, Sr, Ti, Tl, Y, W was noted with a reduction in Cd, Cr, Hg, Mn, Rb, Sn in Group-E, which indicates a complicated egg formation processes, including biotransfer-essential and non-essential chemical elements.

Lactobacillus plantarum is used for fermentation of fish products, meat and milk. However, the utilization of these bacteria in egg processing has not been done. This study was designed to evaluate the potential of fermented egg albumen as a functional food that is rich in angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitors activity (ACE-inhibitor activity) and is antihypertensive. A completely randomized design was used in this study with six durations of fermentation (6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 h) as treatments. Six hundred eggs obtained from the same chicken farm were used in the experiment as sources of egg albumen. Bacteria L. plantarum FNCC 0027 used in the fermentation was isolated from cow’s milk. The parameters measured were the total bacteria, dissolved protein, pH, total acid and the activity of ACE-inhibitors. The results showed that there were significant effects of fermentation time on the parameters tested. Total bacteria increased significantly during fermentation for 6, 12, 18, and 24 h and then decreased with the increasing time of fermentation to 30 and 36 h. Soluble protein increased significantly during fermentation to 18 h and then subsequently decreased during of fermentation to 24, 30, and 36 h. The pH value decreased markedly during fermentation. The activities of ACE-inhibitor in fermented egg albumen increased during fermentation to 18 h and then decreased with the increasing of the duration of fermentation to 24, 30, and 36 h. The egg albumen which was fermented for 18 h resulted in a functional food that was rich in ACE-inhibitor activity.

Background/aim: The type of storage media for short-term storage of an avulsed tooth is a critical determinant for the success of tooth replantation. If immediate replantation of an avulsed tooth is not possible, it is advised to store the tooth in a suitable storage medium. The viability and clonogenicity of periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLF) determines the success of replantation of an avulsed tooth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on the clonogenic capacity of PDLF's upon storage in Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) and egg albumen.Methods: Fibroblast cell culture was established from a human premolar tooth extracted for orthodontic purposes. The PDLF cells thus obtained were treated with either Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM; as a positive control), HBSS, or egg albumen for different durations at room temperature and then allowed to grow in DMEM medium until visible colonies appeared which were then fixed, stained, and scored manually.Results: With increase in the duration of storage in both egg albumen as well as HBSS, there was a reduction in the clonogenic capacity of the PDLF's as compared to DMEM. However, storage in egg albumen led to a significant reduction in the clonogenic capacity of PDLF's (8%-16% for egg albumen) compared to HBSS (80%-90%).Conclusion: Due to its limited ability to support the clonogenicity of PDLF's, egg albumen is a poor storage medium for an avulsed tooth compared to either DMEM or HBSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current analytical methods used for composition analysis of egg products are time consuming and laborious. We developed a near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)-based method to determine the fat, moisture, and protein contents in homogenized egg yolk and the moisture and protein contents in homogenized egg albumen to substitute for conventional methods. The coefficients of determination in the external validation set (R2P) were over 0.8 for all chemical compositions. The ratios of performance to standard deviation (RPD) were 4.38, 2.25, 2.28, 2.31, and 3.03 for fat, moisture, protein and moisture in the egg yolk, and protein in the egg albumen, respectively. Thus, NIR spectroscopy could be an efficient tool for quantitative analysis of the nutrients in chicken eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was undertaken to compare the effect of different storage methods on external and internal quality of Isa Brown eggs obtained from Rufai Poultry Farms Bakura, Zamfara State. Ninety (90) eggs were collected from the Rufai farms sales office at Talata Mafara, Zamfara State. The eggs were divided into three groups (A, B and C) of 30 eggs each. The mean weight of the eggs in each of the groups was determined. Group A was left uncoated in a crate, while groups B and C were coated with peanut oil and palm oil respectively, and stored for four (4) weeks at room temperature. The egg shell, mean egg weight, egg yolk, egg white (albumen) and volume of each individual eggs were evaluated. The average percentage whole egg weight loss for all the groups showed significant difference (p<0.05) after preservation, with group A having the highest average percentage egg weight loss of 64.16±5.00%, although, group B had heavier weight compared to group A before preservation. Eggs coated with palm oil had better internal quality compared to peanut oil coated eggs and non-oil coated eggs, as it was seen to have intact internal content. A significant difference (P< 0.05) was also seen in the volume of group B and C with group C having the highest volume of 67.67±10.79ml. In conclusion this study showed that all palm oil coated eggs had good external and internal quality and longer shelf-life than non-oil coated and peanut coated eggs. It was therefore recommended that eggs should be preserved by coating with palm oil, so as to extend their shell-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beetroot ( Beta vulgaris ) is normally used as natural food colorants in food industry. The objectives of this research are (1) to determine the effect of types (egg albumen and fish gelatine) and different concentrations of foaming agents on foam properties of foam mat drying beetroot, (2) to evaluate the physicochemical properties (color, pH, Brix, bulk density, water activity, hygroscopicity and moisture content) of foam dried beetroot powder, and (3) to determine the effect of temperature on rehydration ratio and color changes of rehydrated foam mat dried beetroot powder. Beetroot foam was spread at 3 mm thickness and hot air dried at 50 °C for 6 h in cabinet dryer. Beetroot pulp can be successfully foamed using egg albumen and fish gelatine as foaming agents, further hot air dried and grinded into powder. In this experiment, beetroot powder after foam mat drying was considered as hygroscopic food and resulted in lighter and reddish in colour. After rehydrating foam mat dried beetroot powder, L* value decreased but a* and b* values increased. Generally, sample beetroot with fish gelatine (BFG) had good foam expansion, foam density, hygroscopicity, water activity, and red color's powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this experiment the effects of supplementation of the diet for laying hens with different doses of green tea (Camelia sativa) on egg quality were studied. Hens of laying hybrid Lohmann Brown (n=30) were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10) and fed for 16 weeks with diets with green tea powder supplemented. In the control group hens received feed mixture without any additives. The diets in the first and second treatment group were supplemented with 0.5% or 1.0% green tea powder. The egg weight (g), specific egg weight (g/cm3), egg yolk weight (g), egg yolk index, egg yolk color (°HLR), albumen weight (g), egg albumen index and Haugh units (HU) were evaluated. Results showed that the addition of green tea powder slightly decreased egg weight (P>0.05). Supplementation of the feed mixture with the green tea powder statistically significantly affected the albumen index in both groups compared to the control group (P<0.05) (values in the order of the groups: 84.04±16.06, 87.67±14.19*, 89.42±16.10*mean±SD). Addition of a feed mixture with a green tea powder increased Haugh units in both the tests groups, however, significantly affected the Haugh units only in the second treatment group compared to the control group (values in the order of the groups: 79.89±7.26. 81.19±6.49 84.84±11.99* mean±SD). The results suggest that the egg weight, specific egg weight, yolk weight, yolk index, yolk colour and albumen weight were not significantly influenced with green tea addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to valorize brewer's spent grains (BSG) in the production of a fiber-enriched fresh egg pasta. To improve pasta structure, the addition of egg white powder (EWP) was also evaluated. An inscribed Central Composite Design was developed, ranging BSG from 3 to 25 g/100 g and EWP from 0 to 12 g/100 g. Highly significant models ( p < 0.001) of different complexity were calculated for all the pasta quality parameters, except for thickness and weight increase during cooking. BSG addition significantly lowered average break strain of pasta with respect to a standard formulation produced without fiber (26 ± 10% vs. 54 ± 4%, for raw sheets; 25 ± 8% vs. 54 ± 1%, for cooked sheets). On the contrary, the addition of EWP improved mechanical properties of cooked pasta due to the tighter protein network developed by ovalbumin. With the highest EWP amount, break load (6.5 ± 0.4 N) and strain (33 ± 4%) of cooked pasta resulted significantly higher than in sample without EWP (1.4 ± 0.1 N and 18 ± 1%, respectively). Optimization of pasta quality by the desirability function demonstrated that BSG and EWP can be successfully exploited in the production of a fresh egg pasta “source of fiber”, thus contributing to a higher sustainability of the brewing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of lyophilization causes that the veterinary drugs residues present in egg albumen do not decompose, as it takes place during the process of high-temperature drying. Thus, lyophilized albumen may be a potential source of their residues for consumers. As a consequence, reliable methods for the determination of veterinary medicinal products from egg albumen are needed. The method for the determination of 85 analytes in lyophilized egg albumen was developed and successfully validated. The recoveries were between 84 and 110%, within laboratory repeatability and reproducibility – in the range of 3.29–16.8% and −5.93 to 19.3%. The presence of enrofloxacin and doxycycline was confirmed in real egg albumen samples. The concentrations ranged from 5.65–596 µg/kg for doxycycline to 0.89–134 µg/kg for enrofloxacin. Nevertheless, the evaluated daily intake and % of the ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) received by the consumers’ were at a toxicologically accepted level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chicken is a dual-purpose animal important from both agricultural and medical aspects. Even though significant improvements have been made in chicken transgenesis technologies, chicken genome manipulation has not been widely used in developmental biology. This study was aimed to evaluate chicken egg white nuclease properties and thereof plausibility of devising an in vivo transfection technology without causing physical damage to the embryo. First, the nuclease activity of egg albumen was assessed. The egg white nucleases were strongly active in degrading DNA and RNA. The egg white DNase activity was comparable to commercially available DNase-I. Nuclease activities were also assessed after heating, proteinase K, or EDTA treatment. Unlike proteinase K, both heating and EDTA were noticeably effective for the nuclease inactivation. Simultaneous application of lipoplex form of DNA (1 μg pDB2: 3 μl Lipofectamine2000) and EDTA showed a synergistic effect in protection against egg white nucleases. Finally, we injected the lipoplexes with or without EDTA close to the embryo at day0, but outside the embryonic epiblast. Implementation of a scrutinized PCR assay indicated that transfection took place only when EDTA was complemented to the lipoplexes. The transfection rate of day4 embryos and the hatched chicks were 54.5 and 30.0%, respectively. EGFP expression was detected in two out of three transgenic chicks. In conclusion, this study provided a detail analysis of chicken egg albumen nuclease properties and suggested the feasibility of developing a puncture-free handmade technology for transfection of the chicken embryo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, concentrated Oil-in-Water (O/W) emulsions were stabilized using egg albumen protein isolate as the only emulsifier. A helicoidal geometry was used and compared with a conventional one to assure an optimal emulsion preparation with that unusual geometry in order to come up with the utility of this rheometer as a valuable tool for understanding and controlling the emulsification process. The results put forward the importance of controlling the emulsification process to optimize the properties of the final emulsion and demonstrating a good agreement between in situ and off-line measurements obtained in mixer-type and conventional rheometers, respectively. Flow properties of the different emulsion prepared were measured, showing an increase in the viscosity with the agitation speed (from 10 to 16 to 114–117 Pa s), protein concentration (from 30 to 40 to 106–125 Pa s) and oil concentration (from 15 to 20 to 130–180 Pa s). Furthermore, the droplet size distribution (DSD) was also measured obtaining the influence of the different parameters with the Sauter diameter (a decrease from 20 to 30 to 7–8 μm, from 26 to 3 μm and from 17 to 24 to 8–14 μm was observed by increasing the agitation speed and the protein and oil concentration, respectively). The influence of the pH was also taken into account. Eventually, a relationship has been found that relates these properties to different composition (pH value, nature and concentration of proteins) or processing variables (agitation speed). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of state-of-the-art moist-heat-resistant microcapsules for a probiotic is described in this report. The survival of the heat-sensitive probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus upon exposure to moist-heat treatment was improved by encapsulating the bacterial cells in multilayered microcapsules, which were formed via a technique that combined electrospraying and fluidized bed coating. A composite composed of egg albumen (EA) and stearic acid (SA) was coated onto the L. acidophilus -encapsulating alginate microcapsules to produce the first shell layer. These microcapsules were subsequently coated with cassava starch granules while they were dried in a fluidized bed dryer using cassava pearls as the drying aid. The effect of the EA:SA ratio on the morphology, encapsulation efficiency (EE) and degree of moist-heat resistance (at 70 °C and 100% relative humidity for 30 min) of the microcapsules was investigated. The results showed that the EE of the microcapsules was greater than 90%. When the relative proportion of SA was increased, the survival rate of the cells encapsulated in the moist-heat-treated microcapsules significantly improved. Compared with earlier reports, the current multilayered microcapsules conferred an extremely high degree of protection of the encapsulated cells upon moist-heat exposure, with the cells suffering a loss of vitality of only 0.6 log CFU/g. These newly developed microcapsules can serve as a prototype encapsulation structure for the protection of other thermosensitive microorganisms and compounds used to fortify foods and feeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]