{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T17:05:28Z","timestamp":1791997528922,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,18]],"date-time":"2021-05-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1621296000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100014809","name":"Technology Agency of the Czech Republic","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TJ02000018: \u201cThe use of mealworms in animal nutrition\u201d."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TJ02000018: \u201cThe use of mealworms in animal nutrition\u201d."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100014809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The main objective of this study was to verify the safety of mealworm meal in the feed of laying hens from 17 to 42 weeks of age. Therefore, the feed mixtures were tested in terms of microbiological stability, fungal and mycotoxin content and selected parameters of hens\u2019 intestinal morphology and physiology were monitored. The experiment was carried out with 30 Lohmann Brown Classic hens. Hens were divided by body mass into three equal groups with 10 replicates per treatment. The two experimental groups received feed mixtures containing 2% and 5% yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) meal. The third group was a control group which had 0% of mealworm meal in the diet. Diets with 2% and 5% of mealworm meals did not affect the length of villi and microbiome of the caecum. The highest digesta viscosity from the ileum was found in the group with 5% mealworm, which may indicate a slower passage of the digesta through the digestive tract. Based on our results, it may be concluded that the proportion of mealworm meals does not deteriorate the quality of feeds. Mealworm meal does not negatively affect microbial stability in experimental feeds. Therefore, it can be recommended the two and (or) five percent of mealworm meal inclusion in hen\u2019s diet.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11051439","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,18]],"date-time":"2021-05-18T06:01:33Z","timestamp":1621317693000},"page":"1439","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Safety of Mealworm Meal in Layer Diets and their Influence on Gut Morphology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2548-0114","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ondrej","family":"Stastnik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jakub","family":"Novotny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Roztocilova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Petr","family":"Kouril","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3987-4613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vojtech","family":"Kumbar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Technology and Automobile Transport (Section Physics), Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julius","family":"Cernik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathological Morphology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palack\u00e9ho T\u0159\u00edda 1946\/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Libor","family":"Kalhotka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leos","family":"Pavlata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lubor","family":"Lacina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Underground Food s.r.o., Brno, Zeiberlichova 160\/72, 644 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2504-5024","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eva","family":"Mrkvicova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Nutrition and Forage Production, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zem\u011bd\u011blsk\u00e1 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.1080\/1828051X.2020.1722970","article-title":"Productive performance, egg-related indices, blood profiles, and interferon-\u0194 gene expression of laying Japanese quails fed on Tenebrio molitor larva meal as a replacement for fish meal","volume":"19","author":"Zadeh","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ital. 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