Nutritional Composition of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) and Its Potential Uses as Alternative Protein Sources in Animal Diets: A Review

Abstract

The rapidly growing population has increased demand for protein quantities and, following a shortage of plant-based feed protein sources and the prohibition of animal-based feed protein, has forced the search for new sources of protein. Therefore, humans have turned their attention to edible insects. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens L.) are rich in nutrients such as fat, protein and high-quality amino acids and minerals, making them a good source of protein. Furthermore, BSFL are easily reared and propagated on any nutrient substrate such as plant residues, animal manure and waste, food scraps, agricultural byproducts, or straw. Although BSFL cannot completely replace soybean meal in poultry diets, supplementation of less than 20% has no negative impact on chicken growth performance, biochemical indicators and meat quality. In pig studies, although BSFL supplementation did not have any negative effect on growth performance and meat quality, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was reduced. There is obviously less research on the feeding of BSFL in pigs than in poultry, particularly in relation to weaning piglets and fattening pigs; further research is needed on the supplementation level of sows. Moreover, it has not been found that BSFL are used in ruminants, and the next phase of research could therefore study them. The use of BSFL in animal feed presents some challenges in terms of cost, availability and legal and consumer acceptance. However, this should be considered in the context of the current shortage of protein feed and the nutritional value of BSFL, which has important research significance in animal production.

Black soldier fly larvae replace traditional iced trash fish diet to enhance the delicious flavor of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)

“…The most abundant essential amino acids in BSFL are leucine, lysine, and valine. The content of these three amino acids is higher than that of soybean meal, and even the content of valine is higher than that of fish meal (Müller et al, 2017;Lu et al, 2022). Surprisingly, the content of these three amino acids did not increase when the mitten crabs were fed BSFL (Table 1).…”

“…The nutrients of the BSFL are not inferior to those of fish meals. On the contrary, they contain some special ingredients, such as microelements and chitin (Lu et al, 2022). Chitin is thought to improve the immune function of animals and is more conducive to animal growth (Swiatkiewicz et al, 2015).…”

Exploring the Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, and Antihemolytic Properties of Sauropus androgynus Dried Leaf Extracts for Ruminant Health and Production

“…The presence of these radicals within the ruminant body had resulted in the development of endogenous systems that are able to reduce the quantities of these radicals [ 2 , 21 ]. On the other hand, when these defense systems did not work or were not enough, the antioxidants that are present in the diet become extremely important as potential protective agents [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Sustainable Valorization of Tomato Pomace (Lycopersicon esculentum) in Animal Nutrition: A Review

“…By then, world food production will have to increase by 70% to meet the needs of human consumption [ 2 ]. In addition, the increased population will consume twice as many animal products, with pork and poultry consumption projected to grow by 105% and 173%, respectively [ 3 , 4 ], which will challenge the production of feed. On one hand, the growing population directly competes with animals for food [ 5 ]; on the other hand, the increase in the population’s demand for livestock products has led to the expansion of the scale of animal husbandry, thereby aggravating the shortage of feed resources [ 6 ].…”