The role of insects in promoting the health and gut status of poultry

Abstract

The structure and functionality of digestive system and gastrointestinal microbiota composition play a crucial role in the development of the gastrointestinal tract and gut morphology. A well-developed gastrointestinal tract will have a proper balanced proportion between the beneficial and harmful microbes; therefore, this balance will promote nutrient utilization and stimulate the development of immune system. The gut microbiota living in an animal’s gastrointestinal tract can be modulated through the feeding of prebiotic or probiotic compounds which have effects on the animal’s humoral immunity, hence improving the nutrient utilization and thus improving growth performance and the overall health condition of the animal. Therefore, this review aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding and recent reports on the role of insect meal in poultry feed aimed at improving health condition and gut status in poultry production. A literature search was performed with an electronic database of Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Research gate, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and PubMed. In addition, recently published manuscripts were selected, and the citations included in articles from the databases were used to search for other relevant articles. The studies were evaluated, and the level of evidence varied with insect types, inclusion levels, and the supplementing method. Extensive research has shown that insects can be safely used in poultry feeds to modulate the development of digestive and immune system without compromising the production parameters and the quality of the produce. Insects can be directly fed to chickens or can be processed into insect meals and supplemented in the diet. Nonetheless, most literatures done on the effects of insect meal are focused commercial chicken breeds and little attention is given to other poultry species; therefore, more studies are recommended to ascertain these findings.