Effects of dietary red ginseng marc on egg production, egg quality and blood characteristics of laying hens

A 45-day feeding trial was conducted to study the effect of red ginseng marc dietary supplementation on the egg production, egg quality and blood profiles of laying hens. One hundred and sixty ISA brown layers were allocated to four treatments (0%, 0.5%, 1% or 2% red ginseng marc) with four replicates per treatment (10 layers per replicate) in wire cages. There were no differences in egg production and egg quality among red ginseng marc as the number of days of treatments increased. However, albumen and eggshell weight exhibited some differences at 30–45 days and 45 days, respectively. Red ginseng marc caused a reduction in total cholesterol at 10 days and triglyceride levels at 10–45 days or an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at 10–45 days but does not affect low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at 10–45 days. No effects were observed in the blood profiles for all treatments, except for red blood cells at 30 and 45 days. It was concluded that 1% or 2% red ginseng marc supplementation to laying hens' diets decreases serum cholesterol concentrations.