Full-fat insect meals as feed additive – the effect on broiler chicken growth performance and gastrointestinal tract microbiota

Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio Full-Fat Meals in Broiler Chicken Diets: Effects on Nutrients Digestibility, Digestive Enzyme Activities, and Cecal Microbiome

“…However, insect meal addition decreased the level of the Bacteroides-Prevotella cluster compared to that in the NC and PC. These results are in agreement with a study conducted by Józefiak et al [20], in which the Bacteroides-Prevotella cluster level was lowered with the inclusion of 0.2% T. molitor full-fat meal. Furthermore, Biasato et al [15] found that Bacteroides abundance was lowered in the ceca of broilers fed diets in which soybean meal was replaced by T. molitor meal.…”

“…The replacement of soybean meal with insect meal as a source of protein has been reported to modulate the GIT microbiota population in broiler chickens and laying hens [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Our findings using insects as feed additives did not show any effects on the total number of bacteria.…”

“…Furthermore, analysis of the selected pancreatic enzymes confirmed the abovementioned results, and no effect on their activity was demonstrated. According to Józefiak et al [20,49,50], the pH values of the digesta can be affected by dietary factors in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract (crop, jejunum, and cecum). Józefiak et al [20] recorded that the pH value of the crop content was significantly reduced after supplementation of a low amount of insect full-fat meals (0.1% and 0.2%) in broiler chickens' diet.…”

“…Recently, insects have been proposed as an alternative source of protein and fat for broilers, turkeys and laying hens [10][11][12][13][14]. In addition, insects were found to be one of the nutrient factors that can modulate the GIT microbiota populations during full or partial replacement of protein sources [15][16][17][18][19] and as feed additives in the diet of broiler chickens [20]. This microbiota modulation can be achieved through bioactive compounds that are present in insects, i.e., chitin, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) [16,20].…”

“…In addition, insects were found to be one of the nutrient factors that can modulate the GIT microbiota populations during full or partial replacement of protein sources [15][16][17][18][19] and as feed additives in the diet of broiler chickens [20]. This microbiota modulation can be achieved through bioactive compounds that are present in insects, i.e., chitin, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) [16,20]. Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and super mealworm larvae (Zophobas morio) presented an interesting nutrient profile, with 451 to 603 g/kg of dry matter (DM) of protein and 250 to 431 g/kg of DM of fat content [11].…”