Dietary superworm oil as a feed additive: impacts on growth, serum biochemistry, nutrient utilization, and fatty acid composition in broiler chickens

Insect-derived oils have emerged as sustainable feed additives in poultry nutrition; however, the effects of superworm oil (SWO) on broiler performance and meat quality remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary SWO supplementation on growth performance, serum biochemical profile, nutrient digestibility, and meat fatty acid composition of broiler chickens over a 35-day feeding period using a completely randomized design. A total of 320 one-day-old Ross-308 broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery and transported in ventilated boxes under warm conditions using stress-minimizing handling procedures. Upon arrival, chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, each with four replicates of 20 birds. The control group received a commercial concentrate (crude protein: 228 g kg⁻¹; metabolizable energy: 11.63 MJ kg⁻¹) as the basal diet, formulated according to NRC recommendations and designed to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. The remaining three groups received the same basal diet supplemented with SWO at 1.5, 3.0, or 4.5 mL kg⁻¹ of diet. Overall, body weight gain was higher in the SWO-4 group (1920 g) than in the control group (1862 g), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.50) was observed in the SWO-4 group. Moreover, serum concentrations of albumin (2.12 vs. 1.32 g dL⁻¹), globulin (3.12 vs. 2.33 g dL⁻¹), and high-density lipoprotein (59.1 vs. 42.2 mg dL⁻¹) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in birds fed the highest level of SWO. Protein digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy were also improved (p < 0.05) in the SWO-4 group. Dietary SWO supplementation reduced the concentrations of saturated fatty acids (C16:0, C17:0, and C18:0) in breast meat, while omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:3n-3 and C22:6n-3) were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Total polyunsaturated fatty acid content was enhanced, and the n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio was reduced in the supplemented groups compared with the control. Overall, dietary supplementation of SWO, particularly at 4.5 mL kg⁻¹, positively influenced growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, nutrient digestibility, and meat fatty acid composition in broiler chickens.