Abstract:

The contents of cholesterol, lecithin and vitamin E in green-shelled embryonated chicken eggs and brownshelled
embryonated chicken eggs were determined colorimetrically with a microplate reader. The data showed that the
cholesterol level was decreased significantly with prolonging incubation time showing the maximal decline between days
5 and 12. After day 12, the cholesterol level remained constant. Lecithin level showed no significant change. Vitamin E
content was gradually increased, until day 12 it was about 4 folds higher than that on day 0 and thereafter, its maximum
level was maintained. At day 0, the cholesterol content of green-shelled embryonated chicken eggs was significantly lower
(P < 0.01) and was 79.37% as compared to the brown-shelled ones, while after days 12, there was no significant difference
between them (P > 0.05). Regardless of hatching, vitamin E content of green-shelled embryonated chicken eggs was
extremely significantly higher than that of the brown-shelled ones (P < 0.01). Lecithin content of green-shelled embryonated
chicken eggs was not significantly different from that of the brown-shelled (P > 0.05). These results indicated that the same
nutrients in two kinds of embryonated eggs shared the consistent trend and that the embryonated chicken eggs after 12 days
of incubation was more suitable for human consumption because of the lower level of cholesterol, the significantly higher
content of vitamin E and the abundance of lecithin.

Key words: brown-shelled chicken eggs, green-shelled chicken eggs, embryonated eggs, cholesterol, lecithin, vitamin E