Single Cell Protein from Agro-Industrial Waste: A Sustainable Alternative for the Efficient Growth of the Broiler Chickens
Agro-industrial Waste Derived Single Cell Protein for Broiler Chicken Nutrition
Keywords:
Agricultural-Waste, Animal Feed, Aspergillus Niger, Chickens, Single-Cell ProteinAbstract
Background: Single cell protein derived from food waste by Aspergillus niger serves as a cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable alternative to protein source in chicken feed. Microbial fermentation of agricultural byproducts generates high-quality, protein and reduces waste. These substrates, such as orange, sugarcane and pomegranate, generate single-cell protein, enhancing feed efficiency and improving protein utilization in poultry feed formulation. This method enhances chicken production, reduces feed expenses, and increases the availability of protein-rich meals and food security.
Method: Three agro-based substrates sugarcane, pomegranate and orange wastes, were tested to produce single cell protein by Aspergillus Niger. Biomass yields were measured, and it was found that orange waste supported greatest fungal biomass, and was therefore chosen for subsequent large scale production of Aspergillus Niger single cell protein. The 120 chicks were allocated at random into treatment group, each with 3 replicates of ten birds. Four diets with equal nitrogen and energy content were prepared containing SCP 0% (Control T1), 5% 10%, and 15% SCP, which replaced with soybean meal (T2 to T4). Separate starter and finisher diet were prepared for and fed to every replicate. At the end of the experimental time, record the growth performance as well as the feed conversion ratio. Liver histopathology were observed at 42 day experiment last day.
Result: The findings indicate that among the substrates tested, orange waste yielded more SCP biomass then the other substrates. Body weight gain in the groups 5% and 10% SCP diets was equivalent to the control within each feeding and the whole trial; however, it was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the group 15% SCP diets. SCP showed appropriate stability at 5%and 10% levels, highlighting the necessity for controlled incorporation at high doses.
Conclusion: SCP inclusion from 5% to 10% of broiler diets to enhance feed efficiency and promote sustainable production of proteins from waste resources.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59564/amrj/04.04/001
References
Falowo AB, Oloruntola OD, Atiba OI, Ayodele OA, Olarotimi OJ, Gbore FA. Growth performance, carcass quality, immune response, and production economics of broiler chickens fed avocado seed meal under feed restriction. Translational Animal Science. 2025;9:txaf047. doi:10.1093/tas/txaf047.
Smith K, Watson AW, Lonnie M, Peeters WM, Oonincx D, Tsoutsoura N, et al. Meeting the global protein supply requirements of a growing and ageing population. European journal of nutrition. 2024;63(5):1425-33. doi: 10.1007/s00394-024-03358-2
Drewnowski A, Hooker K. The protein transition: animal-to-plant ratios in global diets. Front Nutr. 2025. doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1518793.
Maynard C, Maynard C, Jackson A, Kidd M, Rochell S, Owens C. Characterization of growth patterns and carcass characteristics of male and female broilers from four commercial strains fed high- or low-density diets. Poultry Science.2023;102(3):102435. doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2022.102435
Zhang A, Wei M, Yan L, Zhou G, Li Y, Wang H, et al. Effects of feeding solid-state fermented wheat bran on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens. Poultry Science. 2022;101(1):101402. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2021.101402
Bharathi P, Dayana R, Rangaraju M, Varsha V, Subathra M, Gayathri, et al. Biogas production from food waste using nanocatalyst. Journal of Nanomaterials. 2022;2022(1):7529036. doi.org/10.1155/2022/7529036
Tokarchuk D, Pryshliak N, Shynkovych A, Mazur K. Strategic potential of agricultural waste as a feedstock for biofuels production in Ukraine. Rural Sustainability research 2021 Vol 46 (341) P 1-12. 2021. doi.org/10.2478/plua-2021-0012
Fatima A, Zahid A, Ali S, Anwar W, Zia R, Arshad A, et al. Microbial consortia-mediated rice residue decompositon for eco-friendly management. Scientific Reports. 2025;15(1):32381. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99613-5
Kieliszek M, Piwowarek K, Kot AM, Pobiega K. The aspects of microbial biomass use in the utilization of selected waste from the agro-food industry. Open Life Sciences. 2020;15(1):787-96. doi: 10.1515/biol‑2020‑0099.
Abdeen MA, Hussein SM, Hassane AM. Single cell protein production from some food wastes using yeasts. Archives of Agriculture Sciences Journal. 2024 Dec 1;7(3):10-22. doi:10.21608/aasj.2024.399216. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125364
Spanoghe J, Vermeir P, Vlaeminck SE. Microbial food from light, carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas: kinetic, stoichiometric and nutritional potential of three purple bacteria. Bioresource Technology. 2021;337:125364. doi 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125364.
Najib H. Feeding value of single cell protein produced from date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruits for broiler chickens. Annu Res Rev Biol. 2014;4(14):2406-13. doi:10.9734/ARRB/2014/9524
Dunuweera AN, Nikagolla DN, Kapilan R. Fruit waste substrates to produce single-cell proteins as alternative human food supplements and animal feeds using baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). J Food Qual. 2021;2021:9932762. doi:10.1155/2021/9932762
Zha X, Tsapekos P, Zhu X, Khoshnevisan B, Lu X, Angelidaki I. Bioconversion of wastewater to single cell protein by methanotrophic bacteria. Bioresource Technology. 2021;320:124351.doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124351.
Razzaq ZU, Khan MKI, Maan AA, Rahman Su. Characterization of single cell protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae for nutritional, functional and antioxidant properties. Journal of food measurement and Characterization. 2020;14(5):2520-8. doi.org/10.1007/s11694-020-00498-x
Ahmed MG, Gouda SA, Donia S, Hassanein NM. Production of single cell protein by fungi from different food wastes. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery. 2025 Feb;15(4):5447-62. doi.org/10.1007/s13399-024-05478-5.
Hombegowda GP, Suresh BN, Shivakumar MC, Ravikumar P, Girish BC, Rudrappa SM, et al. Growth performance, carcass traits and gut health of broiler chickens fed diets incorporated with single cell protein. Animal bioscience. 2021;34(12):1951. doi: 10.5713/ab.20.0844
Khan AR, Ahmad B, Khan M, Khan MA, Sultan S, Sultana K, et al. Production of Single Cell Protein (SCP) from the Peel Waste of Pea, Potato, and Banana by Aspergillus Flavus NRRL 21882 as an Efficient Organic Poultry Supplement. ACS Omega. 2024;9(36):37763-70. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03317
Alqhtani AH, Al Sulaiman AR, Alharthi AS, Abudabos AE. Dietary supplementation of prebiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall promotes growth performance and intestinal health in broiler chickens challenged with Clostridium perfringens. Br Poult Sci. 2024;65(2):129‑136. doi:10.1080/00071668.2023.2296938.
AOAC INTERNATIONAL. Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International. 22nd ed. Gaithersburg, MD: AOAC INTERNATIONAL; 2019. doi:10.1093/9780197610145.003.1403.
Clarke G, Eidt S, Sun L, Mawdsley G, Zubovits J, Yaffe M. Whole‐specimen histopathology: a method to produce whole‐mount breast serial sections for 3‐D digital histopathology imaging. Histopathology. 2007;50(2):232-42. doi:10.1111/j.1365‑2559.2006.02561.x
Felix N, et al. Proximate and amino acid composition of fishmeal and single‑cell protein for broiler diets. Anim Feed SciTechnol.2023;296:115549. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2023.115549.
Bhunia TAR, Roy B, Das TK. Growth performance of broiler chicken fed diet with single cell protein. Indian J Anim Sci. 2023;93(5):501‑504. doi:10.56093/ijans.v93i5.131043.
Mousa MA, Asman AS, Ali RMJ, Sayed RKA, Majrashi KA, Fakiha KG, Selim S.Impacts of dietary lysine and crude protein on performance, hepatic and renal functions, biochemical parameters, and histomorphology of small intestine, liver, and kidney in broiler chickens. Vet Sci. 2023;10(2):98. doi:10.3390/vetsci10020098.
Rashedi Dehsahraee R, Mahdavi AH, Sedghi M, Saleh H. Effect of different levels of single cell protein and probiotic microorganisms on performance, immunologicalresponses, and intestinal histology in laying hens. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl).2024;108(5):1177‑1188. doi:10.1111/jpn.13963.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Aqsa Maqsood, Fariha Ibrahim, Iffat Imran

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.








