Asymmetrical blending of Tenebrio molitor and Hermetia illucens meals in broiler nutrition: a novel strategy.

The present study is the first to investigate the effect of asymmetric mixtures of Tenebrio molitor (TM) and Hermetia illucens (HI) meals (2:4 and 4:2) on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, blood parameters, and intestinal morphometry in broiler chickens. A total of 1050 one-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were assigned to three isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets for 42 days (14 pens/treatment, 25 birds/pen): a control diet (Control), 2% TM+4% HI (TM2-HI4), or 4% TM+2% HI (TM4-HI2). Over the trial, birds fed TM4-HI2 mixture showed higher body weight gain (BWG) than the Control (P< 0.05), resulting in significantly higher final body weight (BW) on day 42 (P< 0.05). Feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and mortality was not significantly different among treatments. Breast yield increased in both insect-fed groups (P< 0.001). Breast meat lightness ( L *) was higher in TM4-HI2 than TM2-HI4 group (P< 0.05). Cooking loss (CL) was higher in TM2-HI4 group than Control (P< 0.05). Thigh meat fat content increased in both insect-fed groups (P< 0.001). Blood serum cholesterol was higher in TM4-HI2 group due to increased HDL, whereas LDL level was unchanged. TM4-HI2 group shorten small intestine and ileum lengths (P< 0.01), while cecal length was reduced in TM2-HI4 group (P< 0.05). The dietary inclusion of asymmetric TM-HI mixtures improved growth performance, enhanced breast yield, and altered intestinal morphology, indicating that combined TM and HI meals can be safely and effectively used in broiler diets, particularly the TM4-HI2 mixture.