The effect of dietary full-fat Hermetia illucens larvae meal on gut physiology and growth performance in young turkeys

Matter Flow Through an Animal Model Feed With Grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens: Evidence of a Sustainable and Nutritious Protein Production System

The demand for food and the environmental damage linked to its production will increase significantly; thus, the need for protein sources that are nutritious, digestible, and sustainable in environmental terms is rising. Many bromatological studies show that insects possess high protein amounts, becoming an alternative to conventional livestock. However, in vivo studies on digestibility are scarce (either on humans or laboratory animals), particularly when analyzing assimilation efficiency. In this work, we measured weight gain, food intake, feces and urine quantification, protein assimilation efficiency, and food conversion ratio in Wistar rats fed with five different diets for 5 weeks. Three diets were based on different concentrations of orthopteran protein (Sphenarium purpurascens) and were compared against a control diet and a highly caloric treatment, which was heavy in sugar and refined flours. The diet based on 23% of S. purpurascens protein resulted in 2.0 and 20.8% more biomass accumulation than the control and the highly caloric diet, respectively. The diets with 18% and 23% insect protein exhibited an average feed conversion of 6.3, while the control group resulted in 8.5 and the caloric diet in 42.7. These results show that S. purpurascens protein yields higher or equal conversion values than a conventional diet, indicating that grasshoppers can be a sustainable and nutritious food for humans and an alternative to livestock. On the other hand, even if feeding insects to farm animals for human consumption is considered an option, it seems highly inefficient, mainly because this practice increases one trophic level in the energy flow. Therefore, incorporating insect protein into human diets represents a sustainable alternative to face future feeding and environmental challenges. Proposals like the one we present here have yet to be evaluated; however, our findings in laboratory animals project a promising future for human populations, where low environmental cost proteins could be obtained sustainably.

Partial and Total Replacement of Soybean Meal with Full-Fat Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens L.) Larvae Meal in Broiler Chicken Diets: Impact on Growth Performance, Carcass Quality and Meat Quality

The aim of this study was to compare selected growth performance parameters and slaughter characteristics in broiler chickens fed diets with a different content of full-fat Hermetia illucens L. (HI) larvae meal. The experiment was performed on 384 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) reared to 42 d of age and assigned to four dietary treatments (HI0-control diet and diets where soybean meal protein (SBM) was replaced with HI protein in 50%, 75% and 100%, respectively). The final body weights of chickens were as follows: 3010.0 g (HI0), 2650.0 g (HI50), 2590.0 g (HI75) and 2375.0 g (H100, p < 0.05). The carcasses of chickens from the experimental groups contained less meat and more abdominal fat. The feed conversion ratio for the entire experimental period was similar in groups HI0, HI50 and HI75 and more desirable than in group HI100 (p < 0.05). The meat of broiler chickens from groups HI75 and HI100 was characterized by significantly (p < 0.05) lower juiciness and taste intensity than the meat of birds from groups HI0 and HI50. The replacement of SBM protein with full-fat HI larvae meal in broiler diets exceeding 50% significantly compromised the growth performance of birds and the carcass and meat quality.

Lipids from Hermetia illucens, an Innovative and Sustainable Source

The exponential increase of global demand for proteins and lipids can no longer be satisfied by classical sources. High amounts of CO2 produced by intensive livestock breeding and its effects on the environment are the main factors that prevent the use of animals as primary sources for proteins and lipids, calling for the use of new sustainable sources, such as insects. The massive breeding of bioconverter insects as a feed source has been a major topic in recent years, with both economic and scientific aspects related to rearing and subsequent processing optimization. The larvae of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) (also known as Black Soldier Fly) can be used for the eco-sustainable production of proteins and lipids with high biological and economic value. Lipids can be obtained from BSF bioconversion processes and are present in high quantities in the last instar larvae and prepupae. Fats obtained from BSF are used as animal feed ingredients, in the formulation of several products for personal care, and in biodiesel production. To enable the use of insect-derived lipids, it is important to understand how to optimize their extraction. Here, we summarize the published information on the composition, the extraction methods, and the possible applications of the BSF lipid component.