SynthesisScientific reports2025
Effects of microalgae supplementation on performance, egg quality, yolk fatty acid levels, and blood parameters in laying hens: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dietary fish oil, microalgae, and plant oils differentially influence egg quality, yolk fatty acid composition, nutritional lipid quality indices, and fatty acid transfer efficiency in laying hens.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Effects of dietary Spirulina powder on production performance, egg quality, antioxidant status, and blood immune-endocrine indices in laying hens.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Potential of Dietary Microalgae as Feed Additive in Japanese Quail.Veterinary medicine international · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Microalgae have gained attention in laying hen nutrition due to their richness in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), pigments, and antioxidants. However, their efficacy in poultry diets remains inconsistent. This meta-analysis quantitatively evaluated the effects of dietary microalgae supplementation on performance, egg quality, yolk fatty acid composition, and blood biochemistry in laying hens. Thirty-six peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar following PRISMA guidelines, and effect sizes were calculated using weighted mean differences. Microalgae supplementation did not affect feed intake (p > 0.05) but significantly improved hen-day egg production, egg weight, egg mass, yolk weight, shell traits, and Haugh units (p < 0.05). Yolk pigmentation increased in color intensity and redness (p < 0.001) but decreased in lightness (p < 0.001). Microalgae enhanced yolk total n-3 PUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid (p < 0.001), while reducing n-6 PUFA and the n-6/n-3 ratio (p < 0.05). Blood total cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase concentrations decreased (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary microalgae supplementation augments laying performance, enhances egg quality and yolk pigmentation, fortifies yolk with beneficial n-3 fatty acids, and promotes liver health, highlighting its potential as a functional feed additive in layer diets.
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