Effect of Dietary Egg Yolk on Serum Cholesterol Levels of White Leghorn Cockerels

Comparative hypercholesterolemic properties of two dietary cholesterol sources, crystalline and egg yolk powder, were investigated by feeding 60 adult White Leghorn male chickens at various levels. High dietary levels of crystalline cholesterol had a significantly greater influence on raising the serum cholesterol concentration than an equal amount of dietary cholesterol fed in the yolk form. No significant effect (P > .01) was observed at the dietary cholesterol level less than .2% irrespective of cholesterol source. The correlation coefficients between dietary and serum cholesterol levels were r = .97 and r = .77 for the crystalline and egg yolk powder cholesterol source, respectively. The regression coefficients indicate that rate of serum cholesterol increase is related to level of cholesterol intake and dietary source. Results show that crystalline cholesterol in the diet produces significantly higher serum cholesterol than dietary egg yolk powder at the same level.