Utilization of Sake lees as Broiler Feedstuff and its Effects on Growth Performance and Intestinal Immunity

• Published in: The Journal of Poultry Science Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 247 - 259
• Main Authors: Ito, Ken R., Sato, Tomonori, Goto, Hiro, Sato, Katsuyoshi, Watanabe, Jun, Yokoo, Masaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ibaraki Japan Poultry Science Association 01.07.2022; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Alcoholic beverages; Animal feed; broiler; Diet; Drying; Feed conversion; Feed efficiency; Feeds; Food; food loss and waste; Food waste; Gene expression; Ileum; Immunity; intestinal immunity; Intestine; Livestock; Livestock feed; Livestock feeds; Manufacturing industry; Poultry feed; Sake; sake lees; Spoilage; Transforming growth factor-b1
• ISSN: 1346-7395; 1349-0486
• DOI: 10.2141/jpsa.0210087

Increasing food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem, and efforts are being made to use waste food as potential livestock feed material. The amount of self-supplied feed is lower in Japan than in other countries, and the government recommends FLW use for animal feed. Sake (Japanese rice wine) is a traditional alcoholic beverage. During the sake manufacturing process, large amounts of squeezed solids or “lees” (sake lees) are generated. Sake lees are nutritious and functional, but are prone to spoilage. In this study, we investigated whether sake lees should be mixed with animal feed immediately or after drying. To assess the usefulness of sake lees as a poultry feed ingredient and determine the effect of sake lees on intestinal immunity, we performed a feeding trial with three treatments: a raw sake lees (RSL) diet, dried sake lees (DSL) diet, and control diet. Three-week-old broilers were fed these diets (n＝8 per group) for two weeks. We then calculated feed efficiency and performed RT-qPCR to assess the effects of diet on intestinal immunity. The growth performance in the RSL diet group was equivalent to that in the control diet group. The DSL diet became difficult for broilers to eat, resulting in decreased growth performance. In the ileum of RSL-diet broilers, the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β1 and avian β-defensin (AvBD)12 were significantly increased compared to those of control diet broilers (p<0.05), and a significant correlation was observed between the two genes (p<0.05). Our results indicated that sake lees should not be dried and should be mixed immediately with feed, and this sake lees when fed to chicken activates the intestinal immunity. However, sake lees have a lower fat content than corn, and it is thus important to combine sake lees with high-energy feed.