Use of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) to substitute soybean meal in ruminant diet: An in vitro rumen fermentation study

Abstract

Aim:This experiment aimed to evaluate substitution of soybean meal (SBM) by black soldier fly (BSF) larvae meal in a napier grass diet as performed by an in vitro rumen fermentation system.Materials and Methods:Samples of napier grass, SBM, and BSF larvae age 1 week (BSF1) and 2 weeks (BSF2) were arranged according to the following dietary treatments (dry matter [DM] basis): T1, 100% napier grass; T2, 60% napier grass + 40% SBM; T3, 60% napier grass + 40% BSF1; T4, 60% napier grass + 40% BSF2; T5, 60% napier grass + 20% SBM + 20% BSF1; and T6, 60% napier grass + 20% SBM + 20% BSF2. The samples were determined for their chemical composition and were incubated in vitro using buffered rumen fluid for 48 h at 39°C. In vitro incubation was carried out in three runs and represented by two incubation bottles per run.Results:Supplementation of BSF, both BSF1 and BSF2, increased ether extract, neutral- and acid-detergent insoluble crude protein contents of T3-T6 diets. The T3 or T4 diet resulted in lower ruminal ammonia concentration, in vitro DM digestibility, and in vitro organic matter (OM) digestibility as compared to those in T2 (p<0.05). Diet supplemented with BSF produced lower methane emission in comparison to that of supplemented with SBM (p<0.05). Diet containing BSF2 produced lower methane and methane per digestible OM than that containing BSF1 (p<0.05).Conclusion:Substitution of SBM by BSF in ruminant diet results in a lower nutritional value in vitro but with an advantage of lowering ruminal methane emission.

Impact of Agro-industrial Byproducts on Bioconversion, Chemical Composition, in vitro Digestibility, and Microbiota of the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Larvae

“…The use of insect meals for ruminants is currently not allowed in European or North-American countries; however, in several Asian countries, insects are historically considered food and feed and used as a protein source. Few studies investigated the in vitro rumen digestibility of insect larvae as feed for ruminants ( Makkar et al 2014 , Jayanegara et al 2017 , Campbell et al 2020 ).…”

Why for feed and not for human consumption? The black soldier fly larvae

“…BSFL is an interesting insect from a nutritional perspective, as it has a diversity of micro-and macronutrients, and as a result it is widely used as a feed source for animals such as chickens (Pieterse, Erasmus, Uushona, & Hoffman, 2019), fish (Huyben, Vidaković, Werner Hallgren, & Langeland, 2019;Zarantoniello et al, 2020), and pigs (Veldkamp & Bosch, 2015). Their use as feedstuff for ruminants has been less successful due to the high chitin and fat content, which has a negative effect on fermentation and digestibility (Jayanegara, Novandri, Yantina, & Ridla, 2017). These nutrients found in BSFL are the same nutrients that are ideal for human health and can play an important role in a variety of sectors within the food indus-try ranging from meat alternatives (Bessa, Pieterse, Sigge, & Hoffman, 2019), to butter/margarine alternatives (Delicato, Schouteten, Dewettinck, Gellynck, & Tzompa-Sosa, 2020;Smetana, Leonhardt, Kauppi, Pajic, & Heinz, 2020), to bioactive compounds (Müller, Wolf, & Gutzeit, 2017), and potential functional ingredients (Caligiani et al, 2018).…”

Potential of Black Soldier Fly Production for Pacific Small Island Developing States

“…The importance of waste management to tourism will be a main driver of establishing a BSF facility here. The dominant livestock of Vanuatu is beef, and, while BSF has not been studied as a cow feed outside of in vitro studies [156], its use to process, disinfect, and valorize cow manure has been studied extensively [45,46,90,157,158]. BSF as poultry feed or for more sustainable fisheries [56] would also be valued here, and a niche exists to be filled for private or public composting with or without BSF.…”