Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 21;11(6):1837.
doi: 10.3390/ani11061837.

Modified Black Soldier Fly Larva Fat in Broiler Diet: Effects on Performance, Carcass Traits, Blood Parameters, Histomorphological Features and Gut Microbiota

Sihem Dabbou  1 , Angelo Lauwaerts  2 , Ilario Ferrocino  3 , Ilaria Biasato  3 , Federico Sirri  4 , Marco Zampiga  4 , Stefania Bergagna  5 , Giulia Pagliasso  5 , Marta Gariglio  6 , Elena Colombino  6 , Carlos Garcés Narro  7 , Francesco Gai  8 , Maria Teresa Capucchio  6 , Laura Gasco  3 , Luca Cocolin  3 , Achille Schiavone  6
Affiliations

Modified Black Soldier Fly Larva Fat in Broiler Diet: Effects on Performance, Carcass Traits, Blood Parameters, Histomorphological Features and Gut Microbiota

Sihem Dabbou et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

In this study, a total of 200 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were assigned to four dietary treatments (5 pens/treatment and 10 birds/pen) for two feeding phases: starter (0-11 days of age) and grower-finisher (11-33 days of age). A basal diet containing soy oil (SO) as added fat was used as control group (C), tested against three experimental diets where the SO was partially substituted by BSF larvae fat (BSF) or one of two types of modified BSF larvae fat (MBSF1 and MBSF2, respectively). The two modified BSF larvae fats had a high and low ratio of monobutyrin to monoglycerides of medium chain fatty acid, respectively. Diet did not influence the growth or slaughter performance, pH, color, or the chemical composition of breast and thigh muscles, gut morphometric indices, or histopathological alterations in all the organs. As far as fecal microbiota are concerned, MBSF1 and MBSF2 diets reduced the presence of Clostridium and Corynebacterium, which can frequently cause infection in poultry. In conclusion, modified BSF larva fat may positively modulate the fecal microbiota of broiler chickens without influencing the growth performance and intestinal morphology or showing any adverse histopathological alternations.

Keywords: chickens; meat quality; microbiota; modified black soldier fly larvae fat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Main histopathological findings in the organs of the broiler chickens (n = 15/treatment). (a) Glandular stomach, mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates (black arrows), 5×, hematoxylin and eosin (HE). (b) Duodenum, mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates with lymphoid tissue hyperplasia (black asterisk), 5×, H-e. (c) Caecum, mild lymphoid tissue hyperplasia (black asterisk), 5×, H-e. (d) Mild white pulp hyperplasia (black arrows), 5×, H-e. (e) Thymus, mild cortical depletion (black arrows), 5×, H-e. (f) Liver, mild and multifocal vacuolar degeneration of the hepatocytes, 20×, H-e. (g) Liver, mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates (black arrow), 5×, H-e. (h) Bursa of Fabricius, mild follicular depletion (black arrows), 5×, H-e.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots to describe α-diversity measures of fecal microbiota of broiler chickens at the end of the experimental trial. BSF = diet with black soldier fly larvae fat; MBSF1 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 1; MBSF2 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Principal component analysis (PCA) based on OTUs relative abundance of broiler chickens at the end of the experimental trial. BSF = diet with black soldier fly larvae fat; MBSF1 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 1; MBSF2 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 2.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplots showing the relative abundance at genus or family level of the OTUs differentially abundant based on generalized linear mix model (p ≤ 0.05) in fecal samples of broiler chickens independently of sampling time. BSF = diet with black soldier fly larvae fat; MBSF1 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 1; MBSF2 = diet with modified black soldier fly larvae fat type 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Muaz K., Riaz M., Akhtar S., Park S., Smail I. Antibiotic residues in chicken meat: Global prevalence, threats, and decontamination strategies: A review. J. Food Prot. 2019;81:619–627. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-17-086. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yadav S., Jha R. Strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiota and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, and health of poultry. J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol. 2019;10 doi: 10.1186/s40104-018-0310-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li L., Ji H., Zhang B., Tian J., Zhou J., Yu H. Influence of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae oil on growth performance, body composition, tissue fatty acid composition and lipid deposition in juvenile Jian carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Jian) Aquaculture. 2016;465:43–52. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2016.08.020. - DOI
    1. Schiavone A., Cullere M., De Marco M., Meneguz M., Biasato I., Bergagna S., Dezzutto D., Gai F., Dabbou S., Gasco L., et al. Partial or total replacement of soybean oil by black soldier larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) fat in broiler diets: Effect on growth performances, feed-choice, blood traits, carcass characteristics and meat quality. Ital. J. Anim. Sci. 2017;16:93–100. doi: 10.1080/1828051X.2016.1249968. - DOI
    1. Schiavone A., Dabbou S., De Marco M., Cullere M., Biasato I., Biasibetti E., Capucchio M., Bergagna S., Dezzutto D., Meneguz M., et al. Black soldier fly larva fat inclusion in finisher broiler chicken diet as an alternative fat source. Animal. 2018;12:2032–2039. doi: 10.1017/S1751731117003743. - DOI - PubMed

Grants and funding