Cecal volatilome and microbiota profile of organic chickens supplemented with black soldier fly live larvae

Summary

Insects have shown to be a potential nutritional replacement in poultry nutrition as substitute of traditional protein sources, with positive effects on gut microbiota. However,
only few studies have investigated the effects of live black soldier fly (BSF) live larvae
provision on short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and microbiota composition in chicken’s gut.
Label naked neck (LNN, n. 240) chickens were reared in an organic production system
from 21 to 82 days of age and randomly allocated into four experimental groups (10
birds/pen, 6 replicates/treatment) according to bird gender and larvae provision.
Experimental groups were fed with 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae, based on the
expected daily feed intake (DFI). At slaughter, samples of cecal digesta were collected
from 60 animals (15 birds/treatment), frozen and stored at -80°C until to be analyzed by
SPME-CG-MS and DNA sequencing techniques, respectively. Results showed that
seven SCFAs were identified, with butyrate as the most abundant. Even if no significant
differences were found between treatments, the cecal SCFAs concentration in insect-fed
animals were noticed to be less variable than control group. Cecal microbiota analyses of
birds fed with BSF live larvae, showed a higher incidence of Coprobacillus,
Synergistaceae and Christensenellaceae, with the latter to having the potential to
degrade chitin’s insect meal, a compound with immunoregulatory properties. In conclusion,
results showed that even a dietary 10% supplementation of BSF live larvae can slightly
improve microbiota profile and potentially, SCFAs production in LNN chickens. These
results confirm what observed in recent studies on broilers, but with lower (5% of DFI) live
larvae inclusion levels. Financial support for Poultrynsect project was provided by
transnational funding bodies under the Joint SUSFOOD2/CORE Organic Call 2019.