FERMENTED ORANGE BAGASSE (Citrus sinensis) APPLIED IN THE DIETS OF BROILERS ON CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS

• Grant number: 25/02131-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: José Roberto Sartori
• Grantee: Júlia de Lima Lopes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Growing concern about the impacts of global warming has driven the search for alternatives to mitigate the effects of heat stress on broiler chickens, considering the damage to performance and meat quality. In this context, the use of agro-industrial by-products, such as orange pomace, combined with bioprocess techniques, has emerged as a promising approach. Oranges are rich in compounds such as phenolic compounds and carotenoids, has antioxidant and functional potential that can contribute to poultry health and performance. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to evaluate the effect of including orange pomace fermented in solid state by Aspergillus niger in the diet of broilers subjected to thermoneutral conditions and cyclic heat stress. To do this, 320 one-day-old male chicks of the Cobb 500® strain will be housed, distributed in a completely randomized design, in a 2×4 factorial arrangement, with two climatic chambers: thermoneutral (TN); cyclic heat stress (HS); and four diets: control (CO) - basal diet (BD); BD + 0.3% fermented orange pomace (FOP03); BD + 0.6% fermented orange pomace (FOP06); BD + 0.9% fermented orange pomace (FOP09). In total, there will be eight treatments with ten replicates of four birds each. The chemical-bromatological composition of the orange pomace before and after fermentation, carcass yield, meat quality, oxidation and muscle proteome (Pectoralis major) will be analyzed using the Shotgun LC-MS/MS strategy.