This review is intended to provide recent published information on trace elements from edible insects from various environments. Recently, insects are gaining popularity as food proteins in developing countries and press higher demand for edible insects since they may provide similar nutritional value as meat. Insects have been part of the human diet in the world for decades and at least 1900 insect species are considered edible. Furthermore, insects play a crucial role in socioeconomic by contributing to the world’s food security as well as eradicating poverty in rural communities. Generally, edible insects are considered a readily available source of proteins, carbohydrates, and chitin. They also contain considerable amounts of trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, and manganese. It has been observed that there is a great variation between mineral contents found in insects of the same or different species. Knowledge and comprehensive understanding of trace element contents of edible insects are crucial to fully maximise their utilisation in diets and prevent mineral deficiency in human beings and animals. However, most of the research on insects has focused on the nutritional contents of insects with less attention given to other nutritional components such as minerals and trace elements. The available data on trace elements from edible insects as food is limited and makes it difficult to draw estimations for the nutrient intake of humans and animals. Therefore, this review aimed to provide comprehensive information on availability of iron, zinc, copper, and manganese from selected edible insects, functions, and deficiencies in both humans and animals.

The structure and functionality of digestive system and gastrointestinal microbiota composition play a crucial role in the development of the gastrointestinal tract and gut morphology. A well-developed gastrointestinal tract will have a proper balanced proportion between the beneficial and harmful microbes; therefore, this balance will promote nutrient utilization and stimulate the development of immune system. The gut microbiota living in an animal’s gastrointestinal tract can be modulated through the feeding of prebiotic or probiotic compounds which have effects on the animal’s humoral immunity, hence improving the nutrient utilization and thus improving growth performance and the overall health condition of the animal. Therefore, this review aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding and recent reports on the role of insect meal in poultry feed aimed at improving health condition and gut status in poultry production. A literature search was performed with an electronic database of Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Research gate, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and PubMed. In addition, recently published manuscripts were selected, and the citations included in articles from the databases were used to search for other relevant articles. The studies were evaluated, and the level of evidence varied with insect types, inclusion levels, and the supplementing method. Extensive research has shown that insects can be safely used in poultry feeds to modulate the development of digestive and immune system without compromising the production parameters and the quality of the produce. Insects can be directly fed to chickens or can be processed into insect meals and supplemented in the diet. Nonetheless, most literatures done on the effects of insect meal are focused commercial chicken breeds and little attention is given to other poultry species; therefore, more studies are recommended to ascertain these findings.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of bee pollen inclusion on the performance and gut morphology of Ross 308 broiler chickens. A total of 240-day-old chicks (120 males and 120 females) were allocated to 4 treatments in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with sex as a block. Each experimental group was replicated 3 times with 10 chicks per replicate, with an average weight of 40 ± 5g per bird. Body weight and feed intake were measured on a weekly basis to calculate the feed conversion ratio. Gut morphology was measured on days 21 and 42. Data were analysed using the General Linear Model procedures of the Statistical Analysis System.Bee pollen inclusion in starter diets had an effect (p<0.05) on body weight and live weight gain of male Ross 308 broiler chickens. The different inclusion levels of bee pollen had an effect (p<0.05) on the gut morphology of Ross 308 broiler chickens. The ileum lengths of female broiler chickens were significantly wider (p<0.05) in comparison with male chickens. This may suggest that bee pollen inclusion has a beneficial effect on broiler chickens gut morphology during the early stages of development. It can be concluded that natural substances such as bee pollen can be a possible feed additive to replace synthetic antibiotics, since such compounds are essential for the growth and development of poultry gut.

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