# Bioactive Compounds in Breast Meat of Broiler Chickens Fed with Black Soldier Fly Wholesmeal
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant Activity
Bioactive peptides are encoded in the protein sequence and are released following enzymatic hydrolysis or fermentation. BSF is rich in proteins; therefore, following gastrointestinal digestion, many bioactive peptides can be released, enter the blood circulation, and be metabolized in organs and tissues [74]. Furthermore, amino acids such as histidine, methionine, and cysteine, which are hydrophobic and aromatic in nature, increase antioxidant activity due to the transfer of a single electron and the ability to chelate metals. However, the antioxidant effects of HI could also be derived from the chitin exoskeleton, as suggested by [PERSON] et al. [75]. Although the chitin content in the larvae is low (5.35% on a dry matter basis). [PERSON] and [PERSON] [76] and [PERSON] et al. [77] clarified that chitin has excellent free radical scavenging ability to inhibit and prevent biological molecular damage in living cells. Effect of BSF supplementation on thiol groups: A very important aspect of meat quality is the evaluation of oxidation stability, owing to the intrinsic antioxidant capacity of the meat itself. Thiols, along with other components, possess antioxidant properties due to their ability to eliminate free radicals and bind metal ions. This phenomenon is attributable to the presence of -SH groups along the amino acid chain and to the processes of muscle proteolytic degradation by endogenous enzymes, which could expose reactive thiol groups, which is why they are also useful in determining protein oxidation [78]. During intense oxidative stress, a decrease in free sulfhydryls and an increase in disulfides are noted [57]. This test verified the ability of thiols to neutralize free radicals and chelate pro-oxidative metals. In this study, the average content of free thiols in group C was 54.95 \(\pm\) 5.06 nmolSH/mg protein, a value in line with that reported by [PERSON] et al. [79] but higher than that reported by [PERSON] et al. [80]. Dietary supplementation with HI positively influenced the thiol content (\(p\) < 0.01). The content in the -SH groups was 61.64 and 64.69 nmolSH/mg protein in HI5 and HI10, respectively (\(p\) < 0.01). Compared to the control, the percentage increase was 11% for HI5 and 15% for HI10. These results could be due to the supply of amino acids, such as cysteine, present in the experimental diet, which have SH groups linked to the monoacid chain. Insect-enriched diets, rich in protein, contribute to providing highly nutritious components, such as dietary amino acids (AA), and can release bioactive substances with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties [81]. [PERSON] et al. [82] observed that dietary inclusion of BSF enriched metabolic pathways in pig blood plasma, and that they are influenced by amino acid metabolism. These researchers analyzed and quantified the amino acid profiles consisting of essential and non-essential amino acids, as well as intermediate metabolites of amines, which play an important role in cellular protein synthesis and in the biosynthesis of precursors of other active nitrogenous compounds, such as glutathione, a cysteine-rich tripeptide present in the blood plasma of pigs.