article · Frontiers in Veterinary Science
This study evaluated the effects of replacing conventional feed components with yeast fermented poultry by-product meal in diets for Nile tilapia. Researchers tested five formulations over eight weeks: a standard control diet alongside diets containing ten, twenty, thirty, or forty percent fermented poultry meal. Fish fed diets with ten and twenty percent inclusion displayed significantly higher weight gain and specific growth rates, alongside improved feed conversion ratios compared to control and high inclusion groups. Fermented poultry meal generally stimulated digestive enzyme activities, including protease, lipase, and amylase. Moderate inclusion levels also strengthened innate immune responses, boosting phagocytic activity and serum immunoglobulin levels. However, inclusion at forty percent reduced feed intake and weakened key immune markers. Based on polynomial regression analysis, the optimal dietary inclusion range for enhancing tilapia growth and health is between 11.17 and 25.14 percent.
Aquaculture relies heavily on sustainable and cost-effective feed ingredients to replace expensive fish meal. Demonstrating that poultry processing by-products, when fermented with yeast, can safely replace standard ingredients while improving growth, digestion, and immunity provides fish farmers and feed manufacturers with a practical strategy to lower production costs and reduce reliance on traditional marine feed sources.
This research is directly applicable to aquafeed manufacturers and commercial tilapia producers seeking functional, cost-effective protein alternatives. The findings represent applied research tested at an experimental feeding trial level. While the optimal inclusion window of approximately 11 to 25 percent is established under experimental conditions, transitioning this approach to commercial use requires scaling up feed manufacturing and testing under operational farming conditions.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of dietary inclusion of fermented poultry by-product meal (FPBM) on growth performance, digestive enzymes activity, innate immunity, and antioxidant capacity in Nile tilapia (<i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>). A basal diet containing fish meal and soybean meal was considered as a control (Con), and four other diets were produced by inclusion of 10, 20, 30, or 40% FPBM (FPBM10, FPBM20, FPBM30, and FPBM40 diets). The experiment was done in triplicates (20 fish per replicate) and the fish were fed the test diets to visual satiety twice daily for 8 weeks. The groups of fish fed the FPBM10 and FPBM20 diets showed significantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05) higher weight gain and specific growth rate, and lower feed conversion ratio than those fed the Con and FPBM40 diets. Moreover, inclusion of 40% FPBM led to significant reduction of feed intake compared to the other treatments. FPBM at all the tested levels improved intestinal protease activity and lipase activity was enhanced at 10-30% inclusion levels. Furthermore, the FPBM10 and FPBM20 groups revealed significantly higher amylase activity than the other treatments. The FPBM10 group exhibited significantly higher phagocytic activity than the control group and phagocytic index was enhanced by dietary inclusion of 10-30% FPBM. However, inclusion of over 30% FPBM led to significant reduction of lysozyme, phagocytic, and bactericidal activities compared to the control group. Further, FPBM10 and FPBM20 diets increased the serum IgM levels, while NBT was significantly increased by feeding FPBM10 diet compared with FPBM30 and FPBM40 groups (<i>P</i> < 0.05). The group fed the FPBM30 diet showed significantly higher glutathione peroxidase activity than the control group. According to the analysis of the data by the polynomial regression, the inclusion of FPBM at 11.17-25.14% can be applied effectively in the diets of tilapia for better growth performance and health condition.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00516
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
