Nutritional effects of the dietary inclusion of partially defatted Hermetia illucens larva meal in Muscovy duck

Background: The present work is aimed at evaluating the effect of different inclusion levels of a partially defatted black soldier fly(Hermetia illucens,L.;HI) larva meal for ducks.A total of 192 female 3-day-old Muscovy ducklings(Cairina moschata domestica,Canedins R71 L White,Grimaud Freres Selection,France) were divided into 4 groups,assigned 4 different dietary treatments(6 replicates/treatment and 8 birds/replicate) and reared from 3 to 50 days of age.HI larva meal was included at increasing levels(0,3%,6% and 9%,HI0,HI3,HI6 and HI9,respectively) in isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets formulated for 3 feeding phases: starter(3–17 days of age),grower(18–38 days of age) and finisher(39–50 days of age).The growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility were evaluated during the trial using titanium dioxide as an inert marker(0.3% of inclusion).At 51 days of age,two birds per pen were slaughtered and histomorphological investigations were performed.Results: The live weight and average daily gain showed a quadratic response to increasing HI meal in the grower period(minimum corresponding to the HI6 group).No effects of dietary inclusion levels were observed for the daily feed intake or feed conversion ratio.The apparent dry matter and organic matter digestibility were not affected by the dietary treatment.A linear decrease was observed for the crude protein apparent digestibility in the starter period(minimum for the HI9 groups).The ether extract apparent digestibility increased linearly during the grower and finisher periods(minimum for the HI0 group).The morphometric indices were not influenced by the dietary treatments.Conclusions: The inclusion of up to 9% of HI partially defatted larva meal in the diet of ducks did not cause any effect on growth performance,as well as the apparent digestibility.Moreover,dietary HI inclusion preserved the physiological intestinal development.

Dietary inclusion of a partially defatted black soldier fly(Hermetia illucens)larva meal in low fishmeal-based diets for rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Background:Recent investigations highlighted that Hermetia illucens(BSF)larva meal can be a valuable alternative protein source for aquafeed production.In this study,in substitution of fishmeal,we used increasing inclusion levels of a partially defatted BSF larva meal in low fishmeal-based diets for rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum)and we evaluated the related implications in terms of growth performance,physical characteristics,proximate and fatty acid(FA)compositions of the fillets,gut and liver histology,and diet digestibility.In a 131-day trial,576 fish(100.1±9.29 g)were randomly allotted to 24 tanks(24 fish/tank,4 replicates/treatment).Six experimental diets were produced to have partial replacement of fishmeal(0,10%,20%,30%,40%and 50%)by increasing levels of BSF meal(0%[BSF0],3%[BSF3],6%[BSF6],9%[BSF9],12%[BSF12]and 15%[BSF15]on as fed basis,respectively).Results:No differences were observed among the treatments for all the considered growth performance parameters.The viscero and hepato-somatic indexes showed significant differences among the treatments,with the highest values observed in the BSF15 group.No differences were recorded in terms of fillet’s physical characteristics,dry matter(DM),crude protein(CP)and ether extract(EE)contents.Total saturated and monounsaturated FA increased,while polyunsaturated FA(particularly n-3 FA)decreased while increasing the HI meal inclusion in the diet.Histopathology of liver and gut was not affected,whereas,in posterior gut,villi were higher in BSF6 and BSF9 compared to BSF3 fish.The apparent digestibility of DM,CP,EE and gross energy did not vary among the treatments.Conclusions:These results suggest that a partially defatted BSF meal could be included up to 15%in low fishmeal-based diets for rainbow trout with no adverse effects on growth performance,fillet’s physical characteristics,gut and liver health,and diet digestibility.On the contrary,the fillet FA composition worsened while increasing the level of BSF meal in the diet.

Effect of dietary supplementation with insect fats on growth performance,digestive efficiency and health of rabbits

Background: The present work aimed at evaluating the effect of the dietary replacement of soybean oil(S) by two types of insect fats extracted from black soldier fly larvae(H, Hermetia il ucens L.) and yel ow mealworm larvae(T, Tenebrio molitor L.) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood parameters, intestinal morphology and health of growing rabbits.Methods: At weaning, 200 crossbred rabbits(36 days old) were allotted to five dietary treatments(40 rabbits/group): a control diet(C) containing 1.5% of soybean oil and four experimental diets where soybean oil was partially(50%) or totally(100%) substituted by H(H50 and H100) or T(T50 and T100) fats. Total tract digestibility was evaluated on 12 rabbits per treatment. The growth trial lasted 41 d and, at slaughtering(78 days old), blood samples were collected from 15 rabbits per treatment, morphometric analyses were performed on duodenum, jejunum and ileum mucosa,and samples of liver, spleen and kidney were submitted to histological evaluation.Results: No difference was observed between the control and the experimental groups fed insect fats in terms of performance, morbidity, mortality and blood variables. The addition of H and T fats did not influence apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter, protein, ether extract, fibre fractions and gross energy. Gut morphometric indices and organ histopathology were not affected by dietary inclusion of H and T fats.Conclusions: H and T fats are suitable sources of lipid in rabbit diets to replace soybean oil without any detrimental effect on growth performance, apparent digestibility, gut mucosa traits and health.

Assessment of chicken breast shelf life based on bench-top and portable near-infrared spectroscopy tools coupled with chemometrics

Objectives:Near-infra red(NIR)spectroscopy is a rapid technique able to assess meat quality even if its capability to determine the shelf life of chicken fresh cuts is still debated,especially for portable devices.The aim of the study was to compare bench-top and portable NIR instruments in discriminating between four chicken breast refrigeration times(RT),coupled with multivariate classifier models.Materials and Methods:Ninety-six samples were analysed by both NIR tools at 2,6,10 and 14 days post mortem.NIR data were subsequently submitted to partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA)and canonical discriminant analysis(CDA).The latter was preceded by double feature selection based on Boruta and Stepwise procedures.Results:PLS-DA sorted moderate separation of RT theses,while shelf life assessment was more accurate on application of Stepwise-CDA.Bench-top tool had better performance than portable one,probably because it captured more informative spectral data as shown by the variable importance in projection(VIP)and restricted pool of Stepwise-CDA predictive scores(SPS).Conclusions:NIR tools coupled with a multivariate model provide deep insight into the physicochemical processes occurring during storage.Spectroscopy showed reliable effectiveness to recognise a 7-day shelf life threshold of breasts,suitable for routine at-line application for screening of meat quality.