Evaluation of an insect meal of the Black Soldier Fly ( Hermetia illucens ) as soybean substitute: Intestinal morphometry, enzymatic and microbial activity in laying hens

Abstract

This research investigated the ileum morphometry and enzymatic activity, the caecal volatile fatty acid production and the apparent nutrient digestibility in laying hens fed a Hermetia illucens larvae meal (HILM) as a complete replacement of diet soybean meal (SBM). The hens fed HILM exhibited a lower live weight (P<0.05) and a higher incidence of the full digestive tract (P<0.05) than the SBM group. In the duodenum, the maltase exhibited a higher (P<0.05) activity in the HILM group while the intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) had a higher (P<0.05) activity in the SBM group. In the ileum, the maltase and saccarase had a higher activity in the HILM hens (P≤0.01) while the IAP and ɤ glutamil transferase had a higher activity in the SBM group (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). The HILM group showed a higher (P<0.05) villi height in the duodenum, while the opposite happened in the jejunum and the ileum. Only in the ileum the crypt depth resulted higher (P<0.05) in the HIML group than in the SBM. The higher production of acetate (P<0.05) and butyrate (P<0.01) affected the total production of volatile fatty acids of the HILM group. The coefficient of apparent digestibility of dry and organic matter as well as of crude protein was higher (P<0.05) in SBM group. The total replacement of SBM with HILM in laying hens diet from 24 to 45weeks of age resulted in a higher caecal production of butyric acid while the enzymatic activities of brush border membrane were partially reduced.

Egg production and quality responses of adding up to 7.5% defatted black soldier fly larvae meal in a corn–soybean meal diet fed to Shaver White Leghorns from wk 19 to 27 of age

“…Increased hindgut fermentation has been shown to increase mineral absorption (Metzler-Zebeli et al., 2010 ) and thus better egg shell quality in hens-fed BSFLM. Indeed, total replacement of soybean meal with BSFLM in laying hens diet from 24 to 45 wk of age resulted in a higher caecal production of butyric acid (Cutrignelli et al., 2017 ). It is also possible other mechanisms related to feeding BSFLM may have influence strong egg shell characteristics.…”

Effects of 50 Percent Substitution of Soybean Meal by Alternative Proteins from &lt;i&gt;Hermetia illucens&lt;/i&gt; or Spirulina platensis in Meat-Type Chicken Diets with Graded Amino Acid Supply

“…In free-range growing chickens, graded portions of yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) did not influence the morphology of bird`s intestine [40]. However, [41] have demonstrated that a Hermetia illucens added diet caused a significant increase of villi length in the duodenum of laying hens.…”

Black soldier fly larvae oil as an alternative fat source in broiler nutrition

“…Insects are becoming value-added food resources of human diets in many countries ( Borrelli et al., 2017 ) and also used as an alternative to conventional protein ingredients such as fish meal or soybean meal for livestock ( Loponte et al., 2017 , Bovera et al., 2018 , Cutrignelli et al., 2018 ). Black soldier fly ( Hermetia illucens ) is a popular biorecycling organism being able to convert the large quantities of organic, otherwise pollutants, substrates in food or animal wastes to edible protein and fats during their growth ( Zheng et al., 2012 , Li et al., 2016 ).…”