ABSTRACT Avian egg cuticle is deposited on the eggshell prior to oviposition to cover the shell pores and serve as a barrier to the movement of particles, water and microorganisms into the egg. It is present in many poultry species eggs, making it relatively abundant. Unfortunately, there is dearth of information on the proximate and anti-nutrient compositions and anti-fungal activity, hence this preliminary study. Fresh maize cobs were cooked, left overnight and thirty eggs were boiled in the maize broth for ten minutes and again left overnight with the eggs completely submerged in the maize broth. The eggs were carefully removed from the maize broth, rubbed gently with fingers, scraped slightly with knife to harvest the cuticle. Samples of the harvested cuticle were processed for evaluation of proximate, anti-nutrient constituents and anti-fungal activity following standard procedures. Results showed that the egg cuticle contains crude protein (11.59%), crude fat (1.94%), ash (3.29%) and total sugars (90.41%) with 2.133kcal/g caloric value. It was observed to be rich in neutral detergent fibre (55.29%), acid detergent fibre (39.96%) and acid detergent lignin (11.81%). Anti-nutrients like tannin (0.0089%), saponin (0.127%), phytate (0.118%), oxalate (0.093%), trypsin inhibitor (1.65TIU/mg) and haemagglutinin (8.8HIU/mg) were detected in the egg cuticle. Fungi sensitivity test revealed that Aspergillus niger, A. tamari and Trichoderma species were resistant to the egg cuticle whereas, A. flavus was susceptible. Thus, egg cuticle could be used as a supplement in livestock feed for nutritional quality improvement and aspergillosis prevention but more investigations are essential.
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