Search

Camelina sativa is a promising oilseed crop with unique characteristics, including rapid growth, drought and frost tolerance, low input requirements, and resistance to pests and diseases. It offers diverse applications in both feed and non-feed sectors, primarily due to its high levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and antioxidants. However, the presence of secondary plant metabolites in camelina restricts its use in poultry nutrition. These compounds may inhibit some digestive enzymes, increase digesta viscosity, and affect nutrients absorption, potentially compromising bird health and product quality. Various techniques, such as heat treatment, multi-enzyme supplementation, and copper supplementation, have been employed to mitigate the negative effects of these antinutritional compounds. Inclusion at high levels (>10%) of camelina by-products in poultry diets has been found to decrease nutrients digestibility and laying performance. Nonetheless, the inclusion of camelina by-products, particularly oil, in the diets resulted in comparable or improved egg quality. The egg yolk fatty acid profile exhibited a higher content of PUFA, reducing the n-6/n3 ratio, thereby enhancing the nutritional value of eggs. Sensory evaluations showed no significant differences in product quality among diet groups. This review highlights the feeding value of camelina by-products and provides a comprehensive overview of the existing literature, focusing on digestibility, performance, and egg quality evaluation in laying poultry diets.

The present study investigated the effect of Camelina sativa cake dietary inclusion on quail meat fatty acids (FA), amino acids (AA), and sensory characteristics. To this, 480 broiler quails were allocated to four dietary treatments (12 replicated cages/treatment): a control diet (Control) and three diets with 15% camelina cake, containing a commercial cultivar (Calena) and two improved lines (Pearl: low linoleic acid; Alan: low glucosinolates). After slaughter, breast meat FA and AA profiles and contents were analysed, alongside a sensory evaluation by trained panellists. The dietary inclusion modified breast meat FA profile and contents (p <.001), notably increasing α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3), which improved overall n-3 PUFA and reduced the n-6/n-3 ratio to recommended levels. Health indices improved in a line-dependent manner: atherogenicity lowered in Alan compared to Control and Calena (p <.01), while thrombogenicity reduced in all camelina treatments than the Control (p <.001). Camelina-fed groups showed an AA profile in line with the Control one, and Pearl displayed a higher essential AA content compared to Alan (p <.05). Sensory results indicated no substantial changes in meat attributes across treatments, except for tenderness and animal fat flavour: the first lowered in Alan meat compared to the Control (p <.05), while the latter was higher in the Control than in Alan and Calena groups (p <.01). In conclusion, the 15% dietary inclusion of different camelina cakes in quail diets positively influenced meat FA, enhancing product healthiness without negatively impacting its nutritional quality and sensory attributes. Findings indicated that camelina cake is an effective feedstuff to improve quail meat quality. HIGHLIGHTS: Once fed to quails, all tested camelina cakes increased meat n-3 PUFA and reduced the n-6/n-3 by about 5 and 7 times, respectively. Meat atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices of camelina-fed quails improved, indicating enhanced product healthiness. Camelina inclusion did not alter quail meat sensory attributes compared to the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of the dietary inclusion of silkworm (Bombyx mori) oil (SWO) in rabbit diets as a total replacement of sunflower oil on growth performance, carcase traits, total tract apparent digestibility (TTAD) and nutritive value of the diets. A total of n = 64 mixed-sex weaned rabbits (5-week-old) were pair-housed in cages and fed with a commercial diet containing 1.3% sunflower oil (control). From 7 to 10 weeks of age, two experimental groups were formed: half of the rabbits received a control diet, and the other half received a diet where the sunflower oil was replaced by the SWO. During the trial, growth parameters and feed intake were weekly recorded to calculate productive parameters. At 10 weeks of age, rabbits were slaughtered and dissected to determine carcase traits. In parallel to the growth trial, another twenty-four 55-day-old rabbits were individually housed in digestibility cages and randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups (n = 12 rabbits/group) to study the TTAD and nutritive value of the diets. Overall, the dietary inclusion of SWO did not affect the in vivo performance and carcase traits of rabbits. Additionally, the TTAD of rabbits was unaffected by SWO inclusion, although the SWO diet exhibited lower digestible energy (DE) compared to the control diet (p <.05). These findings emphasise the importance of further investigating the nutritive value of SWO-supplemented diets in future studies. In conclusion, SWO can be considered a promising energy source for growing rabbits, an alternative to conventional vegetable oils. Highlights: Silkworm oil (SWO) is a feasible feedstuff for rabbit diets to substitute conventional energy sources. Total tract apparent digestibility of nutrients was not altered by the inclusion of SWO in growing rabbit diets. Growing rabbits fed with SWO as complete replacement sunflower oil showed satisfactory growth performance and carcase traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present experiment studied the effects of egg composition (egg yolk content; Y) of two different chicken genotypes (selected by computed tomography; CT) on hatched chick growth performance, slaughter traits, and meat quality. Three thousand five hundred eggs per genotype were scanned by CT. Then, for each genotype, eggs were selected according to their Y content: low (21.0 ± 0.88 - 350 eggs), medium (24.5 ± 0.15- 350 eggs) and high (28.3 ± 0.98 - 350 eggs). The remaining eggs were excluded from the study. At 11 weeks of age, 15 chickens per group were slaughtered, carcasses were dissected and breast and legs were excised and dedicated to meat quality evaluations. Many parameters were influenced in the meat-type (EE) chickens, including slaughter, breast and leg weights, and abdominal fat content, whereas only the breast incidence on slaughter weight was affected in Tetra-H hybrid. In neither genotype were the meat traits affected by Y content. Two exceptions were represented by leg thawing loss, higher in low Y group compared to medium and high Y group, and by tibia length, longer in high Y content group than in the medium one, both for EE chickens. Similar findings were observed for the meat fatty acid (FA) profile, as only some single FA were influenced by Y content, however, apparently without a specific physiological meaning. The present work demonstrated that the Y content, measured by CT, allowed to select high-quality meat-type animals characterised by the best productive performances in terms of growth rate, live weight, slaughter weight, breast and thigh weights, and with lower abdominal fat content. These findings would bring positive advantages to hatcheries in terms of chick quality and also to farmers in terms of economic revenues: They would rear robust animals that would guarantee a higher probability of survival in the first rearing period and would be characterised by a high slaughter weight at the end of the productive cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In the last decade, the use of insects as feed ingredient has been a popular research topic worldwide. In Europe, a strong input has occurred since the new regulation allowing the use of animal protein to feed non-ruminants, as well as the recent evolution of the market concerning feed ingredients. Insects represent a sustainable feed ingredient alternative to commercial feedstuffs, with enormous potential thanks to a rich nutritional profile, and the possibility to reduce feed-food competition. Among different species, silkworm (Bombyx mori) is of interest thanks to the protein amount, quality, and healthy lipids of spent pupae. Despite the potential, further research on this insect is required to determine the suitability for different livestock species, optimum inclusion levels, administration periods, and possible undesired side-effects. The present study contributes to providing a better understanding of the potential of silkworm as feedstuff for broiler chickens. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of a 4% defatted silkworm (SWM-DEF) meal dietary incorporation into chickens' diet at different growth stages on growth performances, carcass, and meat quality traits. A total of 90 Ross 308 one-day-old male broiler chickens were randomly allocated into 3 dietary groups of 5 replicated pens/diet (6 chickens/pen). One group was fed a standard soybean-based diet (C); group SWM1 consumed a starter diet (1–10 days of age) including 4% SWM-DEF and then the C diet up to slaughter (11–42 days of age); group SWM2 was fed with the C diet in the starter phase and the 4% SWM-DEF diet up to slaughter. Individual live weight and pen feed intake were determined at the end of each feeding phase: starter, grower, and finisher. Weight gain and FCR were then calculated. At 42 days of age, chickens were slaughtered and carcass traits determined. Leg and breast physico-chemical meat quality was also evaluated. Results confirmed that SWM-DEF could be a possible alternative feed source for chickens since growth performance, carcass, and meat physical traits were overall comparable in the three treatment groups. The feeding stage seemed to play a relevant impact on the sole meat protein content (SWM1 < SMW2 and C; p < 0.001). Concluding, the results available to date indicate that 4% SWM-DEF can be provided to chickens in different growth phases, and the choice of the inclusion period is more an industrial cost-benefit evaluation. From the scientific point of view, however, an administration in the grower-finisher phase rather than in the starter one provided the best meat nutritional quality. Further investigations should focus on the impact on meat fatty acids profile and sensory traits, which are of utmost importance for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]