Studies on the Antimicrobial Activity of Chitooligosaccharides from Housefly Larvae, Musca domestica vicina Macquart(Diptera: Muscidae)

The inhibition effect of chitooligosaccharides from housefly larvae on pathogens ofcrops seeds, fruits or vegetables was studied and the main factors influencing theantimicrobial activity of chitooligosaccharides were also investigated. It was foundthat chitooligosaccharides from housefly larvae had wide spectrum fungistasis. It canstrongly inhibit the development of 31 kinds of plant pathogenic fungi such as corticiumrolfsii Saccardo. The results indicated that the degree of deacelylation (DD) or theaverage molecular weight(MW)of chitooligosaccharides were related to the antimicrobialactivity. The antimicrobial activity increased with the rising of DD or the declining ofMW. Pot culture results showed that chitooligosaccharide could enhance the rate ofgermination and emergence of the seeds of maize, wheat and cotton. Chitooligosaccharidehad certain effect on corn southern leaf blight caused by Helminthosporium maydis.

Material flow analysis and global warming potential assessment of an industrial insect-based bioconversion plant using housefly larvae

The significant increase in the demand for biomass waste treatment after garbage classification has led to housefly larvae treatment becoming an attractive treatment option.It can provide a source of protein while treating biomass waste,which means that nutrients can be returned to the natural food chain.However,the performance of this technology in terms of its environmental impacts is still unclear,particularly with regards to global warming potential(GWP).This study used a life cycle assessment(LCA)approach to assess a housefly larvae treatment plant with a treatment capacity of 50 tons of biomass waste per day.The LCA results showed that the 95% confidence intervals for the GWP in summer and winter were determined to be 24.46-32.81 kg CO_(2) equivalent(CO_(2)-eq)/ton biomass waste and5.37-10.08 kg CO_(2)-eq/ton biomass waste,respectively.The greater GWP value in summer is due to the longer ventilation time and higher ventilation intensity in summer,which consumes more power.The main GWP contributions are from(1)electricity needs(accounting for 78.6% of emissions in summer and 70.2%in winter)and(2)product substitution by mature housefly larvae and compost(both summer and winter accounting for 96.8% of carbon reduction).

Feasibility of housefly larvae-mediated vermicomposting for recycling food waste added digestate as additive

The development of methods for the efficient treatment and application of food waste digestate is an important research goal.Vermicomposting via housefly larvae is an efficient way to reduce food waste and achieve its valorization,however,studies on the application and performance of digestate in vermicomposting are rarely.The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of the co-treatment of food waste and digestate as an additive via larvae.Restaurant food waste(RFW)and household food waste(HFW)were selected to assess the effects of waste type on vermicomposting performance and larval quality.Waste reduction rates of 50.9%–57.8%were observed in the vermicomposting of food waste mixed with digestate at a ratio of 25%,which were slightly lower than those for treatments without the addition of digestate(62.8%–65.9%).The addition of digestate increased the germination index,with a maximum value of 82%in the RFW treatments with 25%digestate,and decreased the respiration activity,with a minimum value of 30 mg-O_(2)/g-TS.The larval productivity of 13.9%in the RFW treatment system with a digestate rate of 25%was lower that without digestate(19.5%).Materials balance shows that larval biomass and metabolic equivalent had decreasing trends as the amount of digestate increased and HFW vermicomposting exhibited lower bioconversion efficiency than that of RFW treatment system regardless of the addition of digestate.These results suggest that mixing digestate at a low ratio(25%)during vermicomposting of foodwaste especially RFW could lead to considerable larval biomass and generate relatively stable residues.