THE HYPOCHOLESTEROLEMIC AGENT DICHLOROACETATE INCREASES EGG CHOLESTEROL CONTENT OF LAYING HENS

Experiments were conducted to determine whether a diet with added dich loroacetate (DCA), an inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis, would inf luence plasma and egg cholesterol concentrations when fed to laying he ns. In the first experiment, 62-wk-old laying hens (10 hens per treatm ent) were fed a control diet containing 0, 350, 700, or 1,400 ppm DCA for an 8-wk period. Egg production and size, feed intake, weight gain, and plasma and egg cholesterol were determined at biweekly intervals. In a second experiment, 36-wk-old laying hens (eight hens per treatme nt) received diets with 0, 3,000, or 6,000 ppm added DCA for a period of 6 wk. Production parameters and cholesterol measurements were condu cted as in Experiment 1. Egg production and feed intake were significa ntly decreased with increasing levels of DCA in Experiment 1. In the s econd experiment, 6,000 ppm DCA sharply reduced feed intake, body weig ht, and egg production. Yolk weight and percentage yolk were significa ntly decreased by the higher levels of DCA used in Experiment 2. Total plasma cholesterol was not affected by dichloroacetate in either of t he experiments. In contrast, egg cholesterol concentration increased b y 10 and 37% in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively, in response to diet s with added DCA when compared with the unsupplemented controls. Total egg cholesterol increased in response to dietary DCA in Experiment 1, but not consistently in Experiment 2 due to the decreased yolk size o f the hens fed DCA. The results of these studies indicate that dietary DCA was not effective in reducing egg cholesterol concentrations.