Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42043460›Full record

ArticleTropical animal health and production2026

Dietary superworm oil as a feed additive: impacts on growth, serum biochemistry, nutrient utilization, and fatty acid composition in broiler chickens.

Sarzamin Khan, Ziaul Islam, Shah Zeb, Asad Sultan, Kamran Khan, Philip Yeboah, Rafi Ullah Khan, Amel Ayari-Akkari

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial, Veterinary
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Tropical animal health and production, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sarzamin KhanDepartment of Poultry Science, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Ziaul IslamDepartment of Basic and Applied Zoology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, Dir Upper, Pakistan. ziaulislam@sbbu.edu.pk.
Shah ZebDepartment of Poultry Science, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Asad SultanDepartment of Poultry Science, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Kamran KhanDepartment of Basic and Applied Zoology, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal, Dir Upper, Pakistan.
Philip YeboahDepartment of Poultry Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA.
Rafi Ullah KhanDepartment of Poultry Science, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.
Amel Ayari-AkkariBiology Department, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 960, Abha, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Insect-derived oils have emerged as sustainable feed additives in poultry nutrition; however, the effects of superworm oil (SWO) on broiler performance and meat quality remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dietary SWO supplementation on growth performance, serum biochemical profile, nutrient digestibility, and meat fatty acid composition of broiler chickens over a 35-day feeding period using a completely randomized design. A total of 320 one-day-old Ross-308 broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery and transported in ventilated boxes under warm conditions using stress-minimizing handling procedures. Upon arrival, chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, each with four replicates of 20 birds. The control group received a commercial concentrate (crude protein: 228 g kg⁻¹; metabolizable energy: 11.63 MJ kg⁻¹) as the basal diet, formulated according to NRC recommendations and designed to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. The remaining three groups received the same basal diet supplemented with SWO at 1.5, 3.0, or 4.5 mL kg⁻¹ of diet. Overall, body weight gain was higher in the SWO-4 group (1920 g) than in the control group (1862 g), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (1.50) was observed in the SWO-4 group. Moreover, serum concentrations of albumin (2.12 vs. 1.32 g dL⁻¹), globulin (3.12 vs. 2.33 g dL⁻¹), and high-density lipoprotein (59.1 vs. 42.2 mg dL⁻¹) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in birds fed the highest level of SWO. Protein digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy were also improved (p < 0.05) in the SWO-4 group. Dietary SWO supplementation reduced the concentrations of saturated fatty acids (C16:0, C17:0, and C18:0) in breast meat, while omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (C18:3n-3 and C22:6n-3) were significantly increased (p < 0.05). Total polyunsaturated fatty acid content was enhanced, and the n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio was reduced in the supplemented groups compared with the control. Overall, dietary supplementation of SWO, particularly at 4.5 mL kg⁻¹, positively influenced growth performance, serum biochemical parameters, nutrient digestibility, and meat fatty acid composition in broiler chickens.

Indexed as

ChickensFatty AcidsMeatAnimal FeedAnimal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaAnimalsDietDietary SupplementsDigestionMaleRandom AllocationFatty AcidsFatty acid profileGrowth traitsNutrient digestionRoss-308 broilerSerum biochemical profileSuperworm oil

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.