Influence of Incorporating Full-Fat Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal (BSFLM) in Meat Type Chicken Diets on the Lower Gut Short Chain Fatty Acids profile, Gut Morphology and Intestinal Lesion Score

Abstract

Though protein demand is increasing day by day but the animal protein industry on a global scale is facing the biggest challenge of replacing antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) to raise broiler chickens. Using AGP is a long-standing practice to include in poultry diets for improving the intestinal health and subsequent performance of the broiler chicken. Due to increased restrictions and bans on the usage of antibiotics, the poultry-producing community is in search of a suitable and sustainable alternative to AGPs. The present study was aimed at to evaluate and analyte the potential impacts and consequences associated with the inclusion of black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM) in a commercially available meat type chicken when compared to diets that either contained or lacked the presence of antibiotic growth promoters, specifically enramycin at a concentration of 8% and chlortetracycline at a concentration of 15%. Our study also assessed the influence of inclusion of BSFLM on cecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and the gut health. 180 male day-old Vencobb430Y chicks (mean BW 42.52 g) (P > 0.05) were randomly allocated into isonitrogenous and isoenergetic dietary treatments in three equal groups. BSFLM group has exhibited significant higher concentration of short chain fatty acids in cecum like acetate, isobutyrate, butyrate, and total SCFAs compared to both the AGP and CONTROL groups (P<0.05). The villi height of duodenum and jejunum remained significantly higher in BSFLM supplemented birds as compared to the AGP group (P<0.05). From the analysis of frequency plots depicting the severity of intestinal lesions, it was observed that the presence of serosa and mucosa congestion in the anterior sections of the gastrointestinal tract was within the expected range for both the CONTROL and AGP groups, thus indicating that this particular physiological condition can be considered as normal in these experimental groups. In the duodenal part, incorporating BSFL meal showed significantly higher villi height and crypt depth compared with CONTROL and AGP (P<0.05). Inclusion of full-fat BSF has improved overall intestinal health and lower lesion scores compared to the CONTROL and AGP groups. The present investigation explored the potential of incorporating full-fat black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal into the dietary regimens of broilers for significantly bolstering the health and functionality of their gastrointestinal tract, particularly in instances where the inclusion of antimicrobial growth promoters (AGP) is deliberately omitted from said diets.