Cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) meal fed to healthy adult dogs does not affect general health and minimally impacts apparent total tract digestibility

Abstract

Insects can serve as a novel high-quality protein source for pet foods. However, there is an absence of research investigating the use of insects in pet food. The study objective was to evaluate the apparent total tract digestibility and possible health effects of diets containing graded levels of cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) meal fed to healthy adult dogs. Thirty-two adult Beagles were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments: 0%, 8%, 16%, or 24% cricket meal. Dogs were fed their respective diet for a total of 29 d with a 6-d collection phase. Fecal samples were collected daily during the collection phase to measure total fecal output as well as apparent total tract digestibility for dry matter (DM), organic matter, crude protein, fat, total dietary fiber, and gross energy. Blood samples were taken prior to the study and on day 29 for hematology and chemistry profiles. Data were analyzed in a mixed model including the fixed effects of diet and sex. Total fecal output increased on both an as-is (P = 0.030) and DM basis (P = 0.024). The apparent total tract digestibility of each nutrient decreased (P < 0.001) with the increasing level of cricket meal inclusion. All blood values remained within desired reference intervals indicating healthy dogs. Slight fluctuations in blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.037) and hemoglobin (P = 0.044) levels were observed but were not considered of biological significance. Even with the decrease in digestibility with the inclusion of cricket meal, diets remained highly digestible at greater than 80% total apparent digestibility. In conclusion, crickets were demonstrated to be an acceptable ingredient for dog diets.

Effect of using insects as feed on animals: pet dogs and cats

“…The latter study also reported that dogs fed kibbles coated with 2.5 or 5% BSFL oil consumed 91.5 and 116.2% of their metabolisable energy requirements, respectively. Including 8, 16 or 24% banded cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) meal in extruded foods did not affect food intake in dogs (n=8) (Kilburn et al, 2020).…”

“…Meyer et al (2019) estimated that the apparent faecal N digestibility of their BSFL meal was 83.1% when included in an extruded food and 83.4% when included in a pelleted food. Feeding dogs extruded foods with 8, 16 or 24% inclusion of banded crickets resulted in apparent faecal N digestibility values of 84.8, 86.0 and 82.1%, respectively (Kilburn et al, 2020). The average apparent faecal N digestibility of commercial dog foods can be considered to be close to 80% (Daumas et al, 2012;Hendriks et al, 2013;Hervera, 2011;Kendall et al, 1982), suggesting that the insect meals are in the range of conventional protein sources.…”

“…Yamka et al (2019) reported that all the foods containing either 20% BSFL meal or 5% oil resulted in ideal stool consistency in dogs and did not impact stool consistency in cats relative to the control food. Stools remained well-formed when dogs were fed extruded foods with increasing levels (8, 16 or 24%) of banded cricket meal (Kilburn et al, 2020). Though the number of studies is still limited, it seems that including insect meals in dry extruded pet foods do not disturb intestinal functioning and lead to acceptable stool consistencies.…”

“…linear increasing levels of albumin and calcium and at 6 hours after the challenge and linear decreasing levels of tumour necrosis factor-α and increasing levels of glutathione peroxidase, the number of dogs per treatment is too small to make conclusions about potential health effects of foods containing small amounts (1 or 2%) of BSFL meal. Dogs (n=8 per dietary treatment) fed a dry extruded food with increasing levels (0, 8, 16 or 24%) of roasted and ground cricket-meal (contributing 20, 38 or 57% of total crude protein) for 29 days had on average haematology and chemistry profiles within the reference ranges for healthy dogs (Kilburn et al, 2020). For some individual dogs, values were just outside the ranges, but details about the number of dogs or exact deviations were unfortunately not provided by the authors.…”

Possibility of Using House Cricket (Acheta domesticus) or Mulberry Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Pupae Meal to Replace Poultry Meal in Canine Diets Based on Health and Nutrient Digestibility

“…Therefore, insects have potential as alternative protein sources for animals, particularly dogs. Based on several study reports, dogs have been shown to be able to consume diets containing black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae [6][7][8][9][10][11], tropical house cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) [12], housefly (Musca domestica) larvae, lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) [6], and yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) [6,7] without adverse effects on health or nutrient digestibility, even if used as almost total replacements for common protein sources [6]. House cricket (Acheta domesticus: AD) and mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori: BM) pupae are other potential insects able to be produced on a large scale.…”