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
Review
. 2023 May 3;13(9):1534.
doi: 10.3390/ani13091534.

Could Insect Products Provide a Safe and Sustainable Feed Alternative for the Poultry Industry? A Comprehensive Review

Ayman Khalifah  1 , Sara Abdalla  2 , Mai Rageb  3 , Lucianna Maruccio  4 , Francesca Ciani  4 , Karim El-Sabrout  5
Affiliations
Review

Could Insect Products Provide a Safe and Sustainable Feed Alternative for the Poultry Industry? A Comprehensive Review

Ayman Khalifah et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The planet is home to more than 2000 species of edible insects, some of which have been consumed as food for many years. Recently, edible insect products have been gradually increasing in several countries, such as Italy and Egypt, as novel feed resources for humans and animals due to their availability, potential economic benefits, and high nutritive value. The insect industry can provide a new solution for livestock nutrition and offer many additional advantages, but there are obstacles to overcome, such as some nutritional organizations that forbid its usage. Nevertheless, previous research indicates that different insect species could be used safely as nutraceuticals in poultry farming to improve broiler growth performance (>3%) and layer egg production (>5%). Among these species, there are various products and extracts that can be used in poultry nutrition in a sustainable manner. This review provides an outline of insect composition, nutrient values, application in poultry feed, safety, and guidelines, and finally, the future perspectives of insects as an alternative feed source in poultry diets.

Keywords: edible insect products; egg production; growth; gut health; immunity; meat quality; public health; welfare.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of a circular agriculture economic plan.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bioconversion of waste to animal feed.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Types of safety issues face viability of insects as a source for nutrition.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Insect products as sustainable nutraceuticals for poultry production.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yildiz D. Global Poultry Industry and Trends. [(accessed on 11 March 2021)]. Available online: https://www.feedandadditive.com/global-poultry-industry-and-trends/
    1. Elkomy A., El-Hanoun A., Abdella M., El-Sabrout K. Improving the reproductive, immunity and health status of rabbit does using honey bee venom. J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr. 2021;105:975–983. doi: 10.1111/jpn.13552. - DOI - PubMed
    1. El-Sabrout K., Khalifah A., Mishra B. Application of botanical products as nutraceutical feed additives for improving poultry health and production. Vet. World. 2023;16:369–379. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.369-379. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. El-Deek A.A., Abdel-Wareth A.A.A., Osman M., El-Shafey M., Khalifah A.M., Elkomy A.E., Lohakare J. Alternative Feed Ingredients in the Finisher Diets for Sustainable Broiler Production. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:17743. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-74950-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rodic V., Peric L., Djukic-Stojcic M., Vukelic N. The Environmental Impact of Poultry Production. Biotechnol. Anim. Husb. 2011;27:1673–1679. doi: 10.2298/BAH1104673R. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources