Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio Full-Fat Meals in Broiler Chicken Diets: Effects on Nutrients Digestibility, Digestive Enzyme Activities, and Cecal Microbiome

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of insect full-fat meals added in relatively small amounts to a complete diet on the coefficients of apparent ileal digestibility, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations, bacterial enzymes, and the microbiota community in the cecal digesta of broiler chickens. In total, 600 one-day-old female Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six dietary treatments with 10 replicate pens/treatment and 10 birds/pen. The groups consisted of a negative control (NC) with no additives; a positive control (PC; salinomycin 60 ppm), and supplementation with 0.2% or 0.3% <i>Tenebrio molitor</i> or <i>Zophobas morio</i> full-fat meals. <i>Z. morio</i> (0.2%) addition increased the activities of α- and β-glucosidase and α-galactosidase. Dietary insects significantly decreased the cecal counts of the <i>Bacteroides-Prevotella</i> cluster in comparison to those in the NC and PC. Whereas, <i>Clostridium perfringens</i> counts were increased in the broiler chickens subjected to the 0.3% <i>Z. morio</i> treatment. In conclusion, small amounts of full-fat insect meals added to broiler diets were capable of reducing the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria, such as the <i>Bacteroides-Prevotella</i> cluster and <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>. In addition, this supplementation was able to stimulate the GIT microbiome to produce enzymes, especially glycolytic enzymes.