Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review

Feed accounts for up to 80% of poultry production costs, with high-quality grains such as soybean meal and corn traditionally serving as primary ingredients. However, increasing costs and competition for these grains have driven interest in low-grade and unconventional feed ingredients, including by...

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Main Authors: Jim Kioko Katu, Tamás Tóth, László Varga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/476
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author Jim Kioko Katu
Tamás Tóth
László Varga
author_facet Jim Kioko Katu
Tamás Tóth
László Varga
author_sort Jim Kioko Katu
collection DOAJ
description Feed accounts for up to 80% of poultry production costs, with high-quality grains such as soybean meal and corn traditionally serving as primary ingredients. However, increasing costs and competition for these grains have driven interest in low-grade and unconventional feed ingredients, including by-products like rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal. These alternatives are often constrained by high fiber content, anti-nutritional factors, and reduced nutrient bioavailability. Fermentation has emerged as a promising strategy to address these limitations, enhancing digestibility, palatability, and antioxidant properties while degrading harmful compounds such as tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and free gossypol. Solid- and liquid-state fermentation techniques utilize microbial inoculants, including lactobacilli and <i>Bacillus</i> species, to enzymatically break down complex macromolecules, thereby releasing essential nutrients. When combined with pretreatments like enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation significantly improves the nutritional quality of feed ingredients while reducing costs without compromising poultry health or performance. This review examines the mechanisms, benefits, and challenges of fermentation techniques in poultry feed production, underscoring the importance of further research to optimize fermentation parameters, identify novel microbial strains, and ensure scalability and safety in industrial applications.
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spelling doaj-art-00bd07fd7235429cbc1b147b4fb9f0ea2025-08-20T02:04:34ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-02-0115547610.3390/agriculture15050476Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A ReviewJim Kioko Katu0Tamás Tóth1László Varga2Wittmann Antal Multidisciplinary Doctoral School of Plant, Animal, and Food Sciences, Széchenyi István University, 2 Vár Square, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, HungaryAgricultural and Food Research Center, Széchenyi István University, 1 Egyetem Square, 9026 Győr, HungaryDepartment of Food Science, Széchenyi István University, 15-17 Lucsony Street, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, HungaryFeed accounts for up to 80% of poultry production costs, with high-quality grains such as soybean meal and corn traditionally serving as primary ingredients. However, increasing costs and competition for these grains have driven interest in low-grade and unconventional feed ingredients, including by-products like rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal. These alternatives are often constrained by high fiber content, anti-nutritional factors, and reduced nutrient bioavailability. Fermentation has emerged as a promising strategy to address these limitations, enhancing digestibility, palatability, and antioxidant properties while degrading harmful compounds such as tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and free gossypol. Solid- and liquid-state fermentation techniques utilize microbial inoculants, including lactobacilli and <i>Bacillus</i> species, to enzymatically break down complex macromolecules, thereby releasing essential nutrients. When combined with pretreatments like enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation significantly improves the nutritional quality of feed ingredients while reducing costs without compromising poultry health or performance. This review examines the mechanisms, benefits, and challenges of fermentation techniques in poultry feed production, underscoring the importance of further research to optimize fermentation parameters, identify novel microbial strains, and ensure scalability and safety in industrial applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/476poultryby-productfermentationanti-nutritional factorantioxidant
spellingShingle Jim Kioko Katu
Tamás Tóth
László Varga
Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
Agriculture
poultry
by-product
fermentation
anti-nutritional factor
antioxidant
title Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
title_full Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
title_fullStr Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
title_short Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Low-Grade Poultry Feed Ingredients Through Fermentation: A Review
title_sort enhancing the nutritional quality of low grade poultry feed ingredients through fermentation a review
topic poultry
by-product
fermentation
anti-nutritional factor
antioxidant
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/476
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