Effects of including sesame cake in broiler chicken feed: Performance, nutrient metabolizability, blood parameters,...

This study investigated the use of sesame cake in broiler chicken feed, evaluating its impact on performance, nutrient metabolizability, and carcass and organ yield. Two hundred and forty Ross 308 line 1-day-old chicks weighing an average of 42 g ± 2 g were randomly distributed into four treatments with five replicates of 12 birds each. The treatments consisted of one control diet composed of corn, soybean meal, and meat and bone meal, in addition to three diets with sesame cake inclusions of 50, 100, and 150 g/kg. Data were statistically analyzed by using ANOVA, and later the Dunnett test (P<0.05) and linear and non-linear regression were performed. In the 1-to-7-day phase, there was a quadratic effect on live weight (LW), weight gain (WG) and feed conversion (FC), with the lowest estimated performance at approximately 95 g/kg of sesame cake (SC). Between 1-21 days, better performance was observed, with 50 g/kg of SC, with the highest estimated LW and WG at 56.85 g/kg, while feed intake showed a decreasing linear effect. In the 1-to-35-day and 1-to-42-day phases, performance did not differ from the control diet. In the 1-to-7-day phase, there was a linear reduction in the apparent metabolizability coefficients of gross energy (AMCGE), apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn). From 8-21 days, the inclusion of 50 g/kg sesame cake caused a quadratic increase in the dry matter coefficients (AMCDM), AMCGE, crude protein (AMCCP), AME and AMEn, while 100 g/kg resulted in a decrease in AMCGE and AMCCP. In the 22-to-35-day phase, there was a linear decrease for AMCDM, AMCGE, AMCCP, AME and AMEn, and in the 36-to-42-day phase, a decrease with a quadratic effect was observed for AMCDM, AMCGE, AMCCP, AME and AMEn. The inclusion of sesame cake in the diets resulted in a linear increase in gizzard weight and a linear decrease in the plantar pad score. The cake also led to a linear reduction in leukocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, creatinine, and HDL, and an increasing quadratic effect on heterophils. Although SC did not alter bone density, it reduced calcium concentration and the Ca:P ratio in the tibia (linear effect), while phosphorus had a quadratic response (peak at 57.83 g/kg). Economically, the return on investment (ROI) increased with the inclusion of SC, reaching 65% with 150 g/kg, evidencing economic viability associated with the use of the co-product. Sesame cake can be used in concentrations up to 56.85 g/kg in the initial phases, however the inclusion of up to 150 g/kg did not negatively affect performance in the total period of 1 to 42 days, nor bone densitometry parameters, and promoted good results in terms of health and profitability. Therefore, SC can be used up to 150 g/kg for broiler chickens. As SC is an alternative feed, it should be further studied in order to better understand its nutraceutical benefits.