{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,31]],"date-time":"2026-10-31T20:50:29Z","timestamp":1793479829781,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773792000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), Capacity Building Grant","award":["2023-38821-39977"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-38821-39977"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigated the potential of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal to replace soybean meal in broiler diets by evaluating growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and blood biochemical responses. A total of 160 ten-day old Ross 708 chicks (216.74 \u00b1 0.74, g) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments containing 0%, 20%, 40%, or 60% BSFL meal replacing soybean meal on a 100% equivalent basis, respectively, and evaluated during the starter (10\u201321 days), grower (21\u201342 days), and overall (10\u201342 days) phases. Carcass characteristics, meat color, and blood biochemistry were assessed on day 42. Data was analyzed using polynomial (linear and quadratic) contrasts. Increasing dietary BSFL levels resulted in significant reductions in body weight, average daily gain, and feed intake, while the feed conversion ratio increased linearly. Carcass yield decreased to higher inclusion levels, accompanied by a marked increase in gizzard weight. Meat color (L*, a*, b*) remained largely unchanged across treatments. Blood biochemical analysis revealed linear and quadratic shifts in key metabolites, enzymes, and electrolytes, including reductions in aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, and creatine phosphokinase, as well as altered calcium and phosphorus concentrations. Overall, BSFL meal inclusion as 20% replacement improved growth performance and stimulated beneficial lipid and protein metabolism adaptations in broilers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13030282","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T10:11:12Z","timestamp":1773828672000},"page":"282","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Effects of Black Soldier Fly Larvae as Replacement of Soybean Meal on the Performance, Meat Quality, and Health Status in Broilers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5886-0415","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed A. A.","family":"Abdel-Wareth","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"},{"name":"Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Qena University, Qena 83523, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0268-1084","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Md","family":"Salahuddin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Prantic K.","family":"Goswami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cassandra D.","family":"Gray","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adrian M. W.","family":"Avi\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abigail","family":"Osei-Akoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Trahmilla","family":"Carr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alejandro","family":"Argueta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lea Ann","family":"Kinman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meat Science Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5645-3007","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jayant","family":"Lohakare","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poultry Center, Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"494","DOI":"10.1038\/s43016-021-00322-9","article-title":"A meta-analysis of projected global food demand and population at risk of hunger for the period 2010\u20132050","volume":"2","author":"Morley","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. 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