Tenebrio molitor L. larvae inclusion in quail diet as a fat source: effects on performance, meat quality, and fatty acid composition

This study was conducted to determine the effects of Tenebrio molitor larvae inclusion in diets instead of soybean and fish oil on Japanese quail's performance, carcass, and meat quality. A total of 180 7-day-old quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) of both sexes were housed in battery packs in a controlled environment room. Chicks were randomly allocated to three treatment groups, each with 5 replicate pens of 12 chicks. The dietary treatments were as follows: (1) control (C) group (soybean meal-based diet); (2) fish oil supplemented diet (FO, 30 g/kg DM fish oil); and (3) T. molitor larvae diet (TML, 100 g/kg DM), respectively. No differences were found between daily weight gain and daily feed intake (P>0.05). The final body weight was higher in quail-fed TML and lower in quailfed FO (P<0.01). The feed conversion ratio was improved with the TML diet in quail (P<0.05). Carcass weight was higher in the TML group than in the FO group (P<0.05). No differences between treatment groups were found in liver, heart, and spleen percentages (P>0.05); however, the proventriculus percentage was higher in FO than in the TML group. The chemical characteristics of breast meat were unaffected by dietary treatments (P>0.05). The fatty acids (FA) were similar primarily in quail breast meat fed C and TML diets; however, polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) was lower in the TML diet compared to the C diet (P>0.05). In the FO groups C14:0, C20:4 n6 and n-3 fatty acids (C18:3, C20:3, C20:5, C22:6), saturated FA, PUFA, and n-3/n-6 were increased, monounsaturated FA, PUFA n-6, and n-6/n-3 were decreased compared to the C and TML groups (P<0.01).