Effects of lipoproteins on yolk microstructure in duck, quail, goose, pigeon, and chicken eggs

Poultry eggs are among the most important protein and nutrient sources in human diets. There are considerable differences in the evolutionary processes of different species. Therefore, we evaluated the differences and correlations among the microstructure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level in duck, quail, goose, pigeon, dwarf chicken, ShanDong chicken, Rhode Island Red, and HeTian DaHei chicken eggs. The egg microstructures were polygonal, compact, and granular and showed no evidence of cross-linking. There was a significant variation among the eight poultry egg types in terms of yolk particle size (3829.34-10373.25 mu m(2)), LDL level (0.023-0.048 mmol/l), and HDL level (3.39-7.98 mg/g). There were also significant differences among the chicken species in terms of yolk particle size (4070.87-8139.48 mu m(2)), LDL level (0.028-0.047 mmol/l), and HDL level (3.57-7.98 mg/g). The yolk granules of local chicken breeds were smaller than those of typical egg-laying chickens. The LDL level weakly correlated with the size of egg yolk (r = 0.24)l there was a very weak correlation between HDL level and yolk particle size (r = 0.008). This study provides a theoretical basis for variations in the taste of eggs from different poultry species and sub-species.