Soumeh, Elham AssadiLouwrens, Christiaan HoffmanDaniel, CozzolinoEugeni, RouraAlafif, Mohammad Saleh2026-07-212026https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14154/79610Broiler meat is one of the most widely consumed animal protein sources worldwide. However, increasing demand has raised concerns about the sustainability of broiler production, particularly its reliance on imported soybean meal (SBM), which is associated with environmental impacts and market volatility. Insect-derived proteins, particularly black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL), have emerged as promising sustainable alternatives due to their high nutritional value and ability to convert food waste into valuable biomass. Although BSFL have been studied as an alternative protein source for poultry, limited information is available on locally produced larvae reared on food waste. Since rearing substrates can influence the nutrient composition of BSFL, their feeding value may vary among production sites. Therefore, this project aimed to evaluate the nutritive value of commercially produced full-fat BSFL from different food-waste production sites and determine their suitability as a partial replacement for SBM in broiler diets. Specifically, the study evaluated their chemical composition, amino acid digestibility, metabolizable energy, optimal dietary inclusion level, and the effects of dietary BSFL on broiler performance, gut health, blood parameters, immune response, breast meat quality, and liver proteomics. In Chapter 3, an initial digestibility trial evaluated the nutritive value of full-fat BSFL produced at three food-waste production sites (BSFL-A, BSFL-B, and BSFL-C). Apparent metabolizable energy (AME), nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn), and apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients were determined in broiler chickens. AME ranged from 22.53 to 24.54 MJ/kg DM and AMEn from 22.35 to 24.34 MJ/kg DM, with all BSFL products providing significantly higher energy values than SBM (P < 0.05). Mean AID and SID values ranged from 86.75 to 89.17% and 86.77 to 89.17%, respectively, with no significant differences among production sites. The SID coefficients for lysine, methionine, threonine, and valine ranged from 89.14–90.15%, 88.66–90.02%, 81.48–84.76%, and 87.38–90.01%, respectively. A second experiment evaluated the effects of dietary inclusion of full-fat BSFL produced at three food-waste production sites on broiler growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gut morphology, cecal microbiota, blood parameters, immune response, breast meat quality, and liver proteomics. A total of 576 one-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chickens were assigned to a 3 × 4 factorial design comprising three BSFL production sites (BSFL-A, BSFL-B, and BSFL-C) and four dietary inclusion levels (0, 3, 6, and 9%). Following a common starter diet, birds received the experimental diets from day 10 to 42 to determine the optimal dietary inclusion level while evaluating production performance, physiological responses, meat quality, and liver proteomic adaptations. Evaluation of dietary BSFL inclusion in Chapter 4 showed that the dietary inclusion level and production site had no adverse effects on final body weight, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, or ileal digestibility of protein, fat, dry matter, or organic matter. Intestinal villus height, crypt depth, and villus height-to-crypt depth ratio across duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were similarly unaffected. Blood biochemical, haematological, and immunoglobulin parameters remained within physiological ranges. Cecal microbiota exhibited both substrate- and dose-dependent responses. Although alpha diversity was unaffected by dietary treatment, beta diversity was significantly influenced by both dietary BSFL inclusion and production site, with the production site effect being most evident in birds fed BSFL-C. The relative abundance of Streptococcus alactolyticus, a lactic acid bacterium, increased significantly with the overall dietary inclusion of BSFL, reaching the highest abundance at 9% inclusion, and was also greater in birds fed BSFL-C diets. In Chapter 5, carcass characteristics and breast meat quality traits were maintained across inclusion levels and BSFL sources. pH, colour, water-holding capacity, cooking losses, and shear force did not differ statistically among diets. However, dietary BSFL inclusion significantly increased breast meat protein content, with the highest value observed at 9% inclusion, while the amino acid composition of the breast meat remained largely unchanged. Dietary BSFL inclusion also modified the fatty acid profile, increasing short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids, particularly lauric acid, and greater deposition of the long-chain ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These changes were accompanied by significant reductions in total ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and a consequent improvement in the ω-3/ω-6 ratio, a shift considered nutritionally advantageous for human health. The final component of the project, presented in Chapter 6, investigated liver proteomic adaptations to dietary BSFL inclusion. Broilers were fed diets in which 6% full-fat BSFL-A partially replaced soybean meal, and whole-liver tissue was analysed to quantify proteome-level responses. BSFL inclusion elicited only modest alterations to the liver proteome, with 14 proteins classified as differentially abundant relative to the controls. Most differentially abundant proteins were associated with mitochondrial organisation, lysosomal and peroxisomal function, oxidative defence, and innate immune regulation, whereas down-regulated proteins were primarily involved in glutathione metabolism and membrane trafficking. No proteomic evidence of hepatocellular toxicity, metabolic dysfunction, or inflammatory stress was observed. In conclusion, full-fat BSFL reared on food waste at different production sites provided high metabolizable energy and standardized ileal amino acid digestibility and successfully replaced up to 30% of SBM (9% dietary inclusion) without compromising broiler performance, nutrient utilisation, gut health, blood health, or immune function. BSFL inclusion also improved the nutritional quality of broiler breast meat by increasing protein content and enhancing the fatty acid profile, while inducing only modest liver proteomic changes. These findings demonstrate that full-fat BSFL grown on food waste are a nutritionally viable alternative protein and energy source for broiler chickens without adversely affecting broiler health or physiological responses. Future research should investigate higher dietary BSFL inclusion levels, refine nutrient matrices for commercial feed formulation, and evaluate BSFL under commercial production and challenge conditions.261enBlack soldier fly larvaeBroiler chickenAlternative proteinNutrient digestibilitySustainable poultry productionThesis