Work

Black soldier fly maggot oil as a sustainable soybean oil substitute: maternal and in ovo feeding enhances broiler chick quality, gut integrity, immunity, and DNA methylation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Maternal feeding (MF) and in ovo feeding (IF) are critical for chick robustness. Black soldier fly maggot oil (BSFMO), rich in medium-chain fatty acids, was evaluated as a sustainable alternative to soybean oil (SO). A 2×4 factorial design was used. Hens were fed for 5 weeks with 2% BSFMO or 2% SO, and eggs were incubated. On day 16, 416 embryonated eggs per maternal group were allocated to 4 treatments, resulting in 8 treatments. On day 17, embryonated eggs were subjected to in ovo injection (0.1 mL) with SO, BSFMO-SO mixture, BSFMO, or no injection. Hatchability, chick quality, growth, organ development, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, barrier and immune function, and methylation-related genes were assessed. In ovo BSFMO alone improved hatchability compared to SO and non-injected control, independent of maternal diet. The combination of MF and IF BSFMO synergistically improved chick quality, BWG, feed efficiency, jejunal villus height, plasma T-AOC and IgM levels. In ovo BSFMO independently improved organ development, intestinal morphology and barrier, antioxidant capacity, immune function, and expression of some DNA methylation regulators, while maternal BSFMO independently improved the relative weight of digestive and immune organs (bursa, gizzard, intestine), IGF1 / IGF2 , gut barrier genes, and DNA methylation regulators DNMT1 / DNMT3A . In conclusion, in ovo BSFMO alone drives hatchability, while combined maternal and in ovo BSFMO provides synergistic benefits for chick quality, early growth and feed efficiency. Both strategies independently support intestinal development, antioxidant defense, immune function and methylation-related expression, supporting BSFMO as a sustainable SO substitute for early-life robustness in broilers.

Source: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2026.103402