Improvement of Nutritional Quality of Some Oilseed Meals Through Solid-State Fermentation Using Aspergillus niger

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of solid-state fermentation on the nutritional composition of cottonseed meal (CSM), sunflower meal (SFM) and hazelnut kernel meal (HKM). In this study, each feedstuff was divided into two treatment groups (unfermented and fermented) with five replicates. Nutritional changes in the feedstuffs were determined by analyzing crude protein, ether extract, ash, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber contents. Solid-state fermentation had effects on the nutritional composition in all feedstuffs. The best improvement in nutritional quality was obtained from the HKM with increasing the crude protein and decreasing the structural carbohydrates content. Fermented HKM can be considered as an alternative protein feed for soybean meal considering the nutritional composition.