This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary Tenebrio molitor larvae meal (TM meal) inclusion on the performance, carcass traits, caecum microbiota and blood parameters of broiler chickens. A total of 180‐day‐old chickens were allocated to three dietary groups with five replicate pens (12 birds/pen). Experimental diets were included a corn‐soybean basal diet, and two diets with 2.5% and 5% TM. TM‐included diets have been administered for periods of starter (1–10 days) and grower (11–25 days). A regular finisher diet was given to all groups during the 26–42 days of age. Diets containing TM meal did not influence feed intake and mortality percentage. Feed conversion ratio was lower with the 2.5% TM meal diet compared with the control group at starter period (p < .05). Besides, broiler chickens fed TM meal included diet had a higher body weight gain than the control group during 1–10 days of age (p < .05). The carcass characteristics and length and weight of different parts of small and large intestines were not influenced by diets. TM meal inclusion decreased the albumin‐to‐globulin ratio compared with the control group (p < .05). Additionally, lower total count of aerobic and Escherichia coli bacteria was observed in response to diet inclusion of 5% TM meal. Overall, the inclusion of TM meal in broilers' diet improved body weight gain and feed conversion ratio in the starting period, decreased albumin‐to‐globulin ratio and E. coli bacteria content.

Climate change and the lack of conventional feed ingredients have made edible insects a highly nutritious alternative to feed production. The use of insects as food may help solve socio-economic and environmental problems around the world and be in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this study, the growth performance and intestinal morphology of broiler chickens were evaluated under the in uence of adding different levels of Tenebrio molitor larvae meal (TM meal) to their diets. One hundred eighty day-old broiler chickens were divided into 3 treatments and 5 replications (12 chickens/pen). The experimental diets included a control diet and treatments containing 2.5 and 5% TM meal, which were fed to birds in the starter (0-10 days) and grower (11-25 days) stages, and during the nal period (26-42 days), all birds were fed a regular nisher diet. The results showed that the diet containing TM meal had no remarkable effect on the mortality rate and feed intake (FI) of broilers (P > 0.05). In the period of starter, the addition of 2.5% TM meal to broilers diet increased body weight gain (BWG) than the control group (P £ 0.05). Also, the use of 2.5% TM meal in the starter period showed a signi cant effect on reducing the feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to the birds fed by the control diet (P £ 0.05). Besides, the height of the villus, the depth of the crypt, and the ratio of them were not altered among the different treatments (P > 0.05). Overall, it can be concluded that TM meal could improve growth performance in the starter period, and had no negative effects on broilers' performance and intestinal morphology in all the periods of the experiment.

Introduction:Cancer is the second leading cause of death all over the world and breast cancer is the second common member of cancers worldwide. In this study, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized; using hydroethanolic extract of Cucurbita pepo L. fruit and evaluated for their antiproliferative and apoptotic activities against MCF-7 cell line. Methods: Ag-NPs formation was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis responses were evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/ EB) fluorescent staining, respectively. Results: Our results demonstrated the formation of Ag-NPs by Cucurbita pepo L. fruit extract discoloration to dark black. This transformation revealed their slightly aggregated shapes to quasi-spherical form with a mean diameter of 104 nm. The zeta potential value was -42.3 mV for any Ag-NPs. These results indicated the successful formation of Ag-NPs for cellular uptake. MTT results showed that Ag-NPs significantly decreased the viability and induced MCF-7 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner; especially at concentrations of 50 and 250 μg/mL. Conclusions: In conclusion, according to the results of the present study, biologically synthesized Ag-NPs induce apoptotic and cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner.

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