Effect of dietary inclusion of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) on broiler performance: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Black Soldier Fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) is an insect species that potentially can be used as a protein source for broiler nutrition. This study aimed to evaluate different inclusion level of BSF on broiler performance and blood metabolites by integrating various data from related studies using meta-analysis. Total of 12 studies that comprised of 31 data points were integrated in the database. Parameters observed included Live Weight (LW), Average Daily Gain (ADG), Daily Feed Intake (DFI), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), blood metabolites, and carcass proportion. The database was statistically analyzed by using mixed model method. Different studies were considered as random effects, and the level of BSF was treated as fixed effects. The model statistics used were the p-values and the Akaike information criterion. The significance of an effect was stated when its p-value was < 0.05. The results revealed that BSF feeding had significant linearly reduction effect on LW, ADG, and FCR of broiler (P < 0.05) and significant linearly increase effect on DFI and carcass proportion. However, BSF did not significantly affect on blood metabolites of broilers. It can be concluded that BSF negatively affect the performance of broiler.