{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T04:49:53Z","timestamp":1791521393149,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,4]],"date-time":"2026-10-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791072000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to systematically evaluate the potential of Candida utilis-fermented corn steep liquor (CU-FCSL) to replace soybean meal (SBM) in broiler diets. A total of 72 twenty-one-day-old Arbor Acres Plus broilers (six replicates of six birds) were fed basal or test diets (20% substitution) to determine metabolizable energy. The same design was used to determine standardized ileal amino acid digestibility (SID), with an additional nitrogen-free diet group. In a 42-day growth trial, 288 one-day-old broilers were assigned to control, 2%, 4%, or 6% CU-FCSL diets (six replicates of 12 birds). The results showed that CU-FCSL contained AME 11.36 MJ\/kg DM and AMEn 11.31 MJ\/kg DM, including SID values of Lys (90.00%), Met (94.01%), Thr (84.63%), and Val (88.86%). Compared with the control, broilers fed 2% or 4% CU-FCSL consistently exhibited greater body weight and weight gain across all phases, whereas 6% inclusion impaired growth performance (p &lt; 0.05). The 4% level improved ether extract digestibility, immune parameters, and intestinal villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, whereas 6% inclusion increased abdominal fat, elevated serum uric acid and ALT, decreased serum IgG, IgM, and IL-10, and inhibited intestinal development and health. In conclusion, 2% and 4% CU-FCSL could be added to replace SBM without adverse effects on broiler health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16193117","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T08:57:18Z","timestamp":1791190638000},"page":"3117","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Comprehensive Assessment of Replacing Soybean Meal with Candida Utilis-Fermented Corn Steep Liquor in Broiler Diets: Nutritional Evaluation, Growth Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Intestinal Health and Serum Biochemical"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Li","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, No. 2, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiankun","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd., Yinchuan 750100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiamin","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd., Yinchuan 750100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fang","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd., Yinchuan 750100, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8985-5296","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianmin","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, No. 2, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-animal-030117-014838","article-title":"Meeting Global Feed Protein Demand: Challenge, Opportunity, and Strategy","volume":"7","author":"Kim","year":"2019","journal-title":"Annu. 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