Chemical composition and apparent digestibility of the ostrich offal meal for Nile tilapia

Abstract

This study aimed to produce and nutritionally characterize the ostrich offal meal, and to evaluate its digestible value for Nile tilapia. The relevance of the study lies in the possibility of using by-products from the food industry as alternative food for animals. For this, chemical and microbiological analyses were performed, as well as digestibility trial in the meal produced with ostrich offal for Nile tilapia. The levels found for protein, lipids, gross energy and minerals were 71.08%, 16.54%, 5115 kcal kg-1 and 5.62%, respectively. Microbiological analysis showed absence of Salmonella spp. in the product. The digestibility of protein was 90.41%, and of energy was 77.65%, while the phosphorus availability was 80.18%. Therefore, the ostrich offal meal proved to be a by-product with good nutritional profile and significant digestibility to be used in diets for Nile tilapia.