Valorization of feather waste in Brazil: structure, methods of extraction, and applications of feather keratin.

This systematic review presents the potential of using feather waste as a ß-keratin source, including the Brazilian scenario in the generation of this byproduct. The structure and properties of α- and ß-keratin, the methods commonly reported to extract keratin from poultry feathers, and applications of feather keratin-based materials are also covered in this review. The literature search for poultry production data in Brazil was conducted for the last 2 years, for the period 2021-2022. A broad literature search for extraction methods and applications of feather keratin was done for the period 2001-2022. The poultry industry is one of the largest sectors of the food industry, and Brazil was the third-largest world producer of chicken meat with more than six billion chickens slaughtered in 2021. Poultry feathers constitute about 7% weight of broilers; thus, it can be estimated that about one million tons of poultry feathers were generated in Brazil in 2021, and the improper disposal of this byproduct contributes to environmental problems and disease transmission. The most common method of reusing feathers is the production of feather meal. From economic and environmental points of view, it is advantageous to develop processes to add value to this byproduct, including the extraction of keratin. Among natural biodegradable polymers, keratin-based materials have revolutionized the field of biomaterials due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability, allowing their application in biomedical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and engineering areas.

Bacillus spp. -fermented mixture in goat starter diets on growth performance, blood, and carcass and gastrointestinal traits

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of incorporating Bacillus spp.-fermented mixture (FM; 55% soybean meal and 45% feather meal) in the starter feed of goat kids, specifically its effects on growth performance, blood profile, carcass characteristics, and gastrointestinal traits; the FM protein profile was also evaluated. Seventy-five four-week-old male dairy goat kids were randomly assigned to three different starter diet groups containing B, D, or J strains of 5% Bacillus spp. FM (BG, DG, and JG), a commercial starter diet group (CG), and a starter diet group without FM (NG). During the starter phase (0-6 weeks), the average daily gain was higher in JG and BG goats than in the NG, with the average daily gain and feed conversion in BG found to be best at 6-8 weeks. Furthermore, the intestinal villi and papillae height in the ventral and dorsal sac of BG goats were higher than those in the other groups. The SDS-PAGE analysis of the FM samples further indicated that low molecular weight peptides in FM significantly increased after fermentation. Thus, using a suitable Bacillus sp. to ferment soybean and feather meals can increase the available nutrients. Taken together, these results indicate that adding 5% Bacillus spp.-fermented soybean and feather meal mixture to a starter feed is a feasible option to improve the growth performance of goat kids, without negatively impacting their health.

Simultaneous production of proteases and antioxidant compounds from agro-industrial by-products.

The use of processes for simultaneous production of bioproducts as enzymes and bioactive compounds is an interesting alternative to reduce environmental impacts. Thus, the aim of this study was to produce simultaneously, using the biorefinery concept, both proteases and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity from Bacillus sp. P45 cultivation by using different by-products. The integrated process developed in this study enabled to obtain enzymes with proteolytic and keratinolytic properties in a process with alternate substrates from agro-industrial by-products (feather meal, residual feather meal and biomass), thus, creating an interesting alternative to managing them. The residual biomass provided the highest protease activity (1306.6U/mL) and the reused feather meal reached the highest keratinolytic activity (89U/mL), both at 32h of cultivation. Moreover, hydrolysates produced in cultivation using feather meal and residual biomass had high antioxidant activity, they have great potential as natural antioxidants.

Desempeño productivo y rendimiento de canal en pavos alimentados con harina de plumas tratadas con NaOH / Productive performance and carcass yield of turkey fed feather meal treated with NaOH

Objetivo. Evaluar el desempeño productivo y el rendimiento de la canal en pavos en crecimiento alimentados con dietas elaboradas con harina de plumas (HP). Materiales y métodos. Los tratamientos fueron una dieta control y dos dietas experimentales con harina de plumas tratada con 50 ó 100 g de NaOH/kg. Se utilizó un diseño de bloques al azar. El consumo de alimento y el peso de los animales se registró cada dos semanas. Los datos del desempeño productivo se analizaron con el procedimiento MIXED del programa estadístico SAS. El rendimiento de la canal se analizó con el procedimiento GLM del programa estadístico SAS. Resultados. Los pavos que consumieron la dieta testigo tuvieron mejores ganancias de peso (GP), consumo de alimento (CA), peso de la canal y de sus partes (p<0.05) que aquellas con harina de plumas. Sin embargo, se observó una mayor GP, CA, peso de la canal y del muslo (p<0.05) cuando se trató la harina de plumas con 100 g de NaOH/kg. Conclusiones. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la utilización de harina de plumas disminuyó el comportamiento productivo y el rendimiento de canal en los pavos. Sin embargo, el aumento del tratamiento de la harina de plumas de 50 a 100 g de NaOH/kg mejoró el comportamiento productivo y el rendimiento de canal.

Objective. Evaluate the productive performance and carcass yield of growing turkeys fed with dietsincluding feather meal. Materials and methods. The treatments were: a control diet and two dietswith feather meal (FM) treated with 50 or 100 g of NaOH/kg (5% inclusion) each. A random blockdesign was used. Feed consumption and weight gain were recorded every two weeks. Productiveperformance data was analyzed using the MIXED procedure of the SAS statistical program. Carcassyield was analyzed using the GLM procedure of the SAS statistical program. Results. Weight gain(WG), feed consumption (FC), carcass yield and composition were higher in turkeys fed with thecontrol diet, in comparison to those fed with FM diets (p<0.05). However, Turkeys fed diets with 100g NaOH/kg presented higher WG, FC, carcass yield and thigh weight (p<0.05) than turkeys fed dietswith 50 g NaOH/kg. Conclusions. The use of FM reduces the productive performance and carcassyield in turkeys. However, improvement on productivity and carcass yield were observed when FMtreatment with NaOH increased from 50 to 100 g/kg.

Suplementação de glutamina em dietas elaboradas com ingredientes de origem vegetal e animal para pintos de corte / Supplementation of glutamine in diets with ingredients from animal and vegetable sources for broiler chicks

Foi avaliado o efeito da suplementação da glutamina em dietas contendo ingredientes de origem animal sobre o desempenho e a integridade intestinal de pintos de corte, criados até 21 dias de idade. Os tratamentos constituíram-se de combinações entre tipos de dieta, com ingredientes de origem vegetal ou vegetal+animal e suplementação de glutamina (0,0; 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0%). O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso em arranjo fatorial 2x4, tipos de ração x percentagem de glutamina, com cinco repetições e 12 pintos por unidade experimental. Não houve efeito da interação tipo de dieta versus suplementação de glutamina sobre o desempenho, e os tratamentos não influenciaram o desempenho de pintos de corte. Houve efeito quadrático da suplementação de glutamina sobre o coeficiente de digestibilidade da proteína bruta. A suplementação com glutamina aumentou altura de vilos e profundidade de cripta no duodeno. A utilização de produtos de origem animal em dietas para pintos na fase inicial não prejudica o desempenho, e a inclusão de glutamina melhora a integridade intestinal.

The effect of glutamine supplementation in diets formulated with animal by-products on the performance and integrity of the small intestine of broiler chicks up to 21 days of age was evaluated. The treatments were the combination of types of diets (only with ingredients from a vegetal source or vegetal plus animal source) and levels of glutamine (0.0; 0.5; 1.0 and 2.0%). The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 2x4 factorial scheme (kinds of diets x levels of glutamine), with five replicates and 12 birds per experimental unit. No interaction between diets and glutamine supplementation and treatment effects on the performance traits were observed during the chick starter phase. There was a quadratic effect of glutamine on the crude protein digestibility coefficient. Birds supplemented with glutamine diets showed higher villus height and crypt depth in the duodenum. Broiler diets formulated with animal ingredients have no effect on chick performance during the initial phase, and glutamine supplementation improved the small intestine integrity.

Suplementação de glutamina em dietas elaboradas com ingredientes de origem vegetal e animal para pintos de corte / Supplementation of glutamine in diets with ingredients from animal and vegetable sources for broiler chicks

Foi avaliado o efeito da suplementação da glutamina em dietas contendo ingredientes de origem animal sobre o desempenho e a integridade intestinal de pintos de corte, criados até 21 dias de idade. Os tratamentos constituíram-se de combinações entre tipos de dieta, com ingredientes de origem vegetal ou vegetal+animal e suplementação de glutamina (0,0; 0,5; 1,0 e 2,0%). O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso em arranjo fatorial 2x4, tipos de ração x percentagem de glutamina, com cinco repetições e 12 pintos por unidade experimental. Não houve efeito da interação tipo de dieta versus suplementação de glutamina sobre o desempenho, e os tratamentos não influenciaram o desempenho de pintos de corte. Houve efeito quadrático da suplementação de glutamina sobre o coeficiente de digestibilidade da proteína bruta. A suplementação com glutamina aumentou altura de vilos e profundidade de cripta no duodeno. A utilização de produtos de origem animal em dietas para pintos na fase inicial não prejudica o desempenho, e a inclusão de glutamina melhora a integridade intestinal.(AU)

The effect of glutamine supplementation in diets formulated with animal by-products on the performance and integrity of the small intestine of broiler chicks up to 21 days of age was evaluated. The treatments were the combination of types of diets (only with ingredients from a vegetal source or vegetal plus animal source) and levels of glutamine (0.0; 0.5; 1.0 and 2.0%). The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 2x4 factorial scheme (kinds of diets x levels of glutamine), with five replicates and 12 birds per experimental unit. No interaction between diets and glutamine supplementation and treatment effects on the performance traits were observed during the chick starter phase. There was a quadratic effect of glutamine on the crude protein digestibility coefficient. Birds supplemented with glutamine diets showed higher villus height and crypt depth in the duodenum. Broiler diets formulated with animal ingredients have no effect on chick performance during the initial phase, and glutamine supplementation improved the small intestine integrity.(AU)