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Insect fat influences broiler performance, meat quality, and the cecal microbiota similarly to plant oils rather than animal fats
Abstract We evaluated the addition of Hermetia illucens larvae (BSFL) fat to broiler diets compared to that of soybean oil (SO), rapeseed oil (RO), palm oil (PO), palm kernel fatty acid distillate (PKFD), poultry fat (PF), pig lard (PL), and beef tallow (BT) on performance, meat quality, and cecal microbiota abundance. BSFL addition reduced the feed conversion ratio compared to PO, PF, and BT addition and improved nutrient digestibility at 14 days and 28 days of age. BSFL addition enhanced broiler immune responses compared with SO, PO, and PL by increasing IgA levels; compared to PO by increasing IgG levels; and compared to PL by increasing IgY and IL-6 levels. Moreover, broiler free triiodothyronine levels increased when BSFL was added. Reduced drip loss after 7 days was observed in the RO, PO, PF, PL, and BT groups, while the salt-induced water uptake in the PL group was greater than that in the BSFL group. Compared with the SO group, BSFL addition increased C18:3 and overall n-3 FAs in breast meat. BSFL fat in broiler diets leads to outcomes that are more similar to those of plant oils than to those of animal fats, particularly regarding nutrient digestiblity and immune response.
Cecal microbiota of broilers responds similarly to black soldier fly larvae fat and conventional dietary fat sources
This study aimed to compare the effects of black soldier fly ( Hermetia illucens ) larvae (BSFL) fat with those of dietary fats commonly used in broiler chicken nutrition on gut pH and cecal microbiome. A total of 800 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks were randomly assigned to eight dietary groups, with each group consisting of 10 replicate pens of 10 birds each fed for 35 days. The study design was as follows: the basal diet was enriched with various dietary fats as the sole source of fat, including BSFL fat (as the reference group), soybean oil (SO), rapeseed oil (RO), palm oil (PO), palm kernel fatty acid distillate (PKFD), poultry fat (PF), pig lard (PL), and beef tallow (BT). At the end of the experiment (35 days), the digesta from the crop, gizzard, jejunum, and ceca were sampled for further analyses, including pH determination and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Compared with PKFD, PF, and BT, BSFL significantly reduced the crop pH (P = 0.005). Additionally, BSFL increased the gizzard pH (P = 0.006) relative to PKFD. No differences in alpha diversity were detected among the diets; however, beta diversity differed significantly between the BSFL and PKFD groups (P = 0.034). BSFL fat was associated with a significant reduction in the abundances of Proteobacteria (P = 0.011), Enterobacteriaceae (P = 0.009), and Escherichia-Shigella (P = 0.009) compared with PKFD fat. LEfSe analysis revealed the following microbial markers responsive to BSFL treatment: total bacteria (P < 0.001), Rikenellaceae (P = 0.025), Peptococcaceae [uncultured genus] (P = 0.003), Rhodospirillales (P = 0.048), Alistipes (P = 0.025), the Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group (P = 0.018), the Clostridia vadin BB60 group (P = 0.032), and Alistipes sp. (P = 0.023). These findings suggest that BSFL positively affects the pH in the upper part of a bird’s gut compared with selected animal fats. Furthermore, BSFL enriched beneficial bacteria while inhibiting opportunistic pathogens in the cecal environment of broiler chickens.