Effect of dietary cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L] walp) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seeds on growth performance, blood parameters and breast meat fatty acids in broiler chickens

The effects of dietary replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with two different protein sources (cowpea [CWP] and chickpea [CKP]) on growth performance (GP), blood parameters and breast meat fatty acids (FA) content were evaluated. A total of 780 one-d-old broiler chicks (Cobb 500) were allocated, over 2 growth phases (starter, 0–21 d; finisher, 22–42 d), to 5 dietary treatments as follow: (1) a corn-SBM basal diet as control; (2) 10% raw cowpea; (3) 20% raw cowpea; (4) 10% raw chickpea and (5) 20% raw chickpea. The results indicated that CWP and CKP diets conducted to similar GP (body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio) when compared to the SBM diet, but changes in the content of blood parameters were observed. Glucose and total cholesterol decreased significantly in birds fed CWP (p<.0001) and CKP (p<.001) diet. Also, the use of CWP and CKP had a significant effect on the content of breast muscle FA, especially for alfa-linolenic (p <.0001), eicosapentaenoic (p<.0001), docosapentaenoic (p=.034) and docosahexaenoic (p =.003), which were higher than those fed SBM diet. In addition, there was a significant interaction between the protein source and the inclusion level (S × L) for the majority of the FA’s. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that CWP and CKP seeds represent an interesting alternative protein sources, which can improve broilers performance, health status and breast fatty acids composition.Highlights Cowpea (CWP) and chickpea (CKP) can be used as replacement for soybean meal in broiler chickens diets, at inclusion levels up to 200 g/kg. Dietary use of CWP and CKP decreased plasma cholesterol and glucose concentration. Use of CWP and CKP in broilers diets positively modified breast meat fatty acids, especially α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic or docosahexaenoic acids with potential benefits to human nutrition