Growth performance, meat quality, cecal microbiota and metabolomics profile of turkeys fed diets containing black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal

A trial was conceived to evaluate the effects of the dietary inclusion of defatted BSF larvae meal on growth performance, breast meat quality traits, cecal microbiota composition and metabolomics profile of turkeys. A total of 1512 female turkeys (B.U.T. 6) were divided into two groups (9 replicate pens) fed either a basal diet (CON group) or CON diet with 5% BSF meal from 65 days to slaughtering (105 days; INS group). The administration of BSF meal improved final body weight (10.17 vs. 10.06 kg/bird, respectively for INS and CON; P = 0.04) as well as daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio in the rearing cycle (96.22 vs. 95.23 g/bird/day and 2.127 vs. 2.141, respectively; P = 0.03). Breast meat quality traits and cecal microbiota were only slightly affected by the treatment. The cecal concentration of tyramine was significantly lower in INS turkeys, which showed higher levels of glucose and malonate (P = 0.03). The use of BSF meal tended (0.05 < P < 0.10) to increase the cecal content of isoleucine, betaine and butyrate, and to reduce the amount of 3-phenylpropionate. Overall, the dietary inclusion of 5% BSF meal from 65 to 105 days improved the growth performances of female turkeys mainly through the modulation of the gut metabolomics profile.