Growth performance, immune status and intestinal fermentative processes of young turkeys fed diet with additive of full fat meals from Tenebrio molitor and Hermetia illucens
Introduction
Insects can be used as an alternative source of protein and fat in poultry feed (Marono et al., 2017; Józefiak and Engberg, 2017). Insect full–fat meals obtained from black soldier fly larvae, housefly maggots and pupae, mealworms, silkworm pupae, locusts, grasshoppers and crickets have been used as a replacement for soybeans or as a feed additive in the diet of various livestock animals (Sanchez-Muros et al., 2014; Bovera et al., 2015, 2016; Józefiak et al., 2016, 2018; Biasato et al., 2017; Kierończyk et al., 2018b). In Europe, the use of insect meal in the production of poultry meat is not yet authorized, and it may be possible that the current legal restrictions will be revised (EFSA, 2016).
According to Veldkamp et al. (2012), full fat insect meals contain a high amount of crude protein (350–600 g/kg of dry matter (DM)) with comparable amino acids composition to that of soybean. Particularly, in the case of lysine content, which ranges from 60 to 80 g/kg of crude protein (Makkar et al., 2014). Full–fat insect meals also contain large amounts of fat, (310–550 g/kg) (Ramos-Elorduy et al., 2002; Józefiak et al., 2016; Benzertiha et al., 2019; Kierończyk et al., 2018a). Furthermore, full-fat insect meals are a rich source of calcium (50–80 g/kg DM) and phosphorous (6–15 g/kg DM) (Arango Gutierrez et al., 2004; St-Hilaire et al., 2007; Yu et al., 2009). Insect larvae also contain chitin which is a main part of their exoskeleton. Finke (2007) indicated that the estimated chitin content of insect species ranged from 2.7 to 49.8 mg/kg and 11.6–137.2 mg/kg (dry matter basis).
Although, chitin may negatively affect protein digestibility (Longvah et al., 2011), many researchers have shown that it has a positive effect on immune and antioxidant functions in poultry (Sanchez-Muros et al., 2014; Bovera et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2008). In addition to chitin, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) also have a stimulating effect on the immune system (Dutta and Das, 2016; Józefiak and Engberg, 2017). Literature data show that AMP are peptides with a wide range of activity against bacteria, fungi and viruses (Thacker, 2013; Józefiak and Engberg, 2017; Wu et al., 2018). Inclusion of small amounts of full-fat insect meals (0.5–2 g/kg) in the diet of broiler chickens can modulate the composition of the gut microbiota (Józefiak et al., 2018). Research by Ramos-Elorduy et al. (2002) has shown that due to the high content of crude protein and fat in insect larvae, their use in broiler diets should be limited to 100 g/kg of the total dry matter of the diet. However, according to Józefiak and Engberg (2017), in chicken diets based on soybean meal they can be used with no adverse effect on feed consumption, body weight gain (BWG) or feed conversion ratio (FCR).
Administration of coccidiostats among others monensin with feed is an effective method of preventing coccidiosis in poultry. Treatment with monensin acted to affect a number of bacterial genera within the chicken cecum and act to reduce lactobacilli populations in the ileum and caecum (Danzeisen et al., 2011). Studies carried out so far in turkey chicks have shown the effect of monensin on the acquisition of immunity against coccidiosis (Arczewska-Włosek and Świątkiewicz, 2015; Chapman, 2008; Mathis, 1993). Although there are reports of the possibility of stimulating the immune system, monensin may also accumulate in tissues and be toxic from errors in the calculation and formulation of medicated feed, inadequate mixing, and exposure of nonintended species to medicated rations (Chapman, 2008). In this context, the idea of using alternative nutrition methods as a factor supporting immunoprophylaxis in stimulating immunity while maintaining high performance, is highly justified. In the future, they may find use in the prevention of coccidiosis in poultry. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that the small dietary addition of 3 g/kg full-fat insect meal, can be functional feed additives that improve the metabolism and growth performance of turkeys and also stimulate their immune and antioxidant system and limiting bacterial activity in different gastrointestinal segments in a similar or more effective way than monensin. This study was conducted to determine whether the addition of full-fat insect meals from Tenebrio molitor and Hermetia illucens in the amount of 3 g/kg to the basal diet has a more beneficial effect than monensin on the metabolism, immune, antioxidant status, bacterial activity in different gastrointestinal segments and growth performance of turkeys.
Section snippets
Animals and diets
The experiment was carried out in a poultry house at the experimental facilities of the Department of Poultry Science, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. A total of 224 one-day-old male Hybrid Converter turkeys were obtained from a local commercial hatchery, Grelavi in Kętrzyn (Poland). Birds were randomly divided into four treatment groups, with eight replicates of seven birds each. The duration of the experiment was 28 days. The birds were kept in cages (0.5 × 1 m), and all
Results
Compared to turkeys from group C, TM, and HI, the birds from MON group excelled them with respect to higher BW and DBWG (both, P < 0.05) and better FCR (P < 0.05) (Table 4).
In comparison to group C, lower plasma content of TC (P < 0.05) and higher content of P (P < 0.001) were noted in the turkeys from groups TM and HI. In the turkeys from group TM, plasma AST activity (P < 0.05) was lower than in the turkeys from group C. The plasma Cu content in the turkeys from group HI was found to be lower
Discussion
According to the available literature, insects are a rich source of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which can be used as an alternative to antibiotics in livestock production to improve animals’ growth and health or to treat infections (Józefiak and Engberg, 2017; Pretorius, 2011). In the present study, the addition of ionophore coccidiostatic monensin to the feed improved the growth performance of turkeys, while no such effect was observed when Tenebrio molitor or Hermetia illucens meal was
Conclusions
The addition of monensin to the growing turkey diet improved their growth performance, while the addition of full-fat Tenebrio molitor or Hermetia illucens meal had no such effect. The results obtained in the present study indicated that the relative small dietary addition of 3 g/kg full-fat insect meal, both from Tenebrio molitor or Hermetia illucens, exerted similar intestinal effects to those resulted from the addition of antibiotic monensin to a feed, and it limited the bacterial enzymatic
Author statement
Conceptualization – Jan Jankowski, Krzysztof Kozłowski, Katarzyna Ognik; Data curation – Krzysztof Kozłowski, Katarzyna Ognik, Jerzy Juśkiewicz; Formal analysis - Anna Stępniowska, Jerzy Juśkiewicz, Katarzyna Ognik; Funding acquisition - Jan Jankowski, Damian Józefiak, Katarzyna Ognik, Anna Stępniowska, Zenon Zduńczyk; Investigation - Katarzyna Ognik, Zenon Zduńczyk; Methodology - Krzysztof Kozłowski, Damian Józefiak, Jan Jankowski; Resources - Jan Jankowski, Katarzyna Ognik; Supervision - Jan
Declaration of Competing Interest
We declare that all listed authors meet and agree on the following criteria:
This study is original and has not been published elsewhere.
All data presented in the manuscript have been checked and are reliable.
All authors have read and accepted the manuscript as it is submitted for publication.
All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.
Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by project TEAM TECH no. POIR.04.04.00-00-204E/16-00, entitled: Insects as novel protein sources for fish and poultry" and partially by project of Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Warsaw, Poland) in frame of the program entitled "Regional Initiative of Excellence" for the years 2019-2022, no. 010/RID/2018/19.
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