Abstract
Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) is rapidly becoming a new sustainable ingredient. Currently, there is no information on purging BSFL and consequently their nutritional profile. In the first part of this study, the BSFL urea/ammonia content along with proximate, fatty acid and amino acids were examined when food was withdrawn at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 h. After 3 h, urea content linearly increased until 24 h, while ammonia also increased linearly, but then decreased by 24 h. Total amino acids and total fatty acids gradually decreased and increased over time, respectively. At 3 and 6 h, butyric and acetic acid significantly decreased, respectively. In a follow-up separate study, providing coconut fibers mitigated the ammonia/urea increases within 48 h. Results indicate that the nutritional profile of BSFL reduces over time and thus should be processed immediately. Further research should explore the possibility of nutrient loading prior to harvest and more effective ways for purging BSFL.
Data availability
The data sets used during the current study are available from the corresponding upon reasonable request.
References
AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemists). (2006) In P. A. Cunniff (Ed.), Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International, 18th ed. Arlington, Virginia: AOAC International.
Belghit I, Liland NS, Gjesdal P, Biancarosa I, Menchetti E, Li Y, Waagbø R, Krogdahl Å, Lock EJ (2019) Black soldier fly larvae meal can replace fish meal in diets of sea-water phase Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Aquaculture 503:609–619
Bradley K (2014) Farming edible insects (Hello, zero-footprint protein). https://www.milkwood.net/2014/06/12/farming-edible-insects-hello-zero-footprint-protein/
den Besten G, van Eunen K, Groen AK, Venema K, Reijngoud DJ, Bakker BM (2013) The role of short-chain fatty acids in the interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and host energy metabolism. J Lipid Res 54:2325–2340
Durst PB, Johnson DV, Leslie RN, Shono, K (2010) Forest insects as food: humans bite back. Proceedings of a workshop on Asia-Pacific resources and their potential for development. Chiang Mai, Thailand. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1993) EPA method 350.1. Determination of ammonia nitrogen by automated colorimetry. Revision 2.0.
Ewald N, Vidakovic A, Langeland M, Kiessling A, Sampels S, Lalander C (2020) Fatty acid composition of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) – Possibilities and limitations for modification through diet. Waste Manage 102:40–47
Fischer H, Romano N (2021) Fruit, vegetable, and starch mixtures on the nutritional quality of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae and resulting frass. J Insect Food Feed, in press. https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF2020.0100
Green TR, Popa R (2012) Enhanced ammonia content in compost leachate processed by black soldier fly larvae. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 166:1381–1387
Harlystiarini H, Mutia R, Wibawan IWT, Astuti DA (2020) Immune responses and egg productions of quails fed rations supplemented with larvae meal of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). Trop Anim Sci J 43:43–49
Hoc B, Genva M, Fauconnier ML, Lognay G, Francis F, Megido RC (2020) About lipid metabolism in Hermetia illucens (L. 1758): on the origin of fatty acids in prepupae. Sci Rep 10: 11916.
Kumar V, Fawole FJ, Romano N, Hossain MS, Labh SN, Overturf K, Small BC (2021) Insect (black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens) meal supplementation prevents the soybean meal-induced intestinal enteritis in rainbow trout and health benefits of using insect oil. Fish Shellfish Immunol 109:116–124
Lalander C, Diener S, Zurbrügg C, Vinnerås B (2019) Effects of feedstock on larval development and process efficiency in waste treatment with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). J Clean Prod 208:211–219
Lee J, Kim YM, Park YK, Yang YC, Jung BG, Lee BJ (2018) Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae enhances immune activities and increases survivability of broiler chicks against experimental infection of Salmonella gallinarum. J Vet Med Sci 80:736–740
Liu Z, Minor M, Morel PCH, Najar-Rodriguez AJ (2018) Bioconversion of three organic wastes by black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae. Environ Entomol 47:1609–1617
Liu T, Awasthi MK, Awasthi SK, Duan Y, Zhang Z (2020) Effects of black soldier fly larvae (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) on food waste and sewage sludge composting. J Environ Manage 256:109967
Makkar HPS, Tran G, Heuzé V, Ankers P (2014) State-of-the-art on use of insects as animal feed. Anim Feed Sci Technol 197:1–33
McCue MD, Guzman RM, Passement CA, Davidowitz G (2015) How and when do insects rely on endogenous protein and lipid resources during lethal bouts of starvation? A new application for 13C-breath testing. PLoS ONE 10:e0140053
Mwaniki Z, Shoveller AK, Huber LA, Kiarie EG (2020) Complete replacement of soybean meal with defatted black soldier fly larvae meal in Shaver White hens feeding program (28–43 wks of age): impact on egg production, egg quality, organ weight, and apparent retention of components. Poult Sci 99:959–965
Oonincx DGAB, van Broekhoven S, van Huis A, van Loon JJA (2015) Feed conversion, survival and development, and com- position of four insect species on diets composed of food by-products. PLoS ONE 10:e0144601
Palma L, Fernandez-Bayo J, Niemeier D, Pitesky M, VanderGheynst JS (2019) Managing high fiber food waste for the cultivation of black soldier fly larvae. Nature: Sci Food 3: 15
Rahmatullah M, Boyde TR (1980) Improvements in the determination of urea using diacetyl monoxime; methods with and without deproteinisation. Internat J Clin Chem 107:3–9
Schiavone A, De Marco M, Martínez S, Dabbou S, Renna M, Madrid J, Hernandez F, Rotolo L, Costa P, Gai F, Gasco L (2017) Nutritional value of a partially defatted and a highly defatted black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) meal for broiler chickens: apparent nutrient digestibility, apparent metabolizable energy and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility. J Animal Sci Biotechnol 8: 51
St-Onge M-P, Jones PJH (2002) Physiological effects of medium- chain triglycerides: potential agents in the prevention of obesity. J Nutr 132:329–332
St-Onge M-P, Bosarge A, Goree LLT, Darnell B (2008) Medium chain triglyceride oil consumption as part of a weight loss diet does not lead to an adverse metabolic profile when compared to olive oil. J Amer College Nutr 27:547–552
Tran NT, Li Z, Wang S, Zheng H, Aweya JJ, Wen X, Li S (2020) Progress and perspectives of short-chain atty acids in aquaculture. Rev Aquacult 12:283–298
Truzzi C, Giorgini E, Annibaldi A, Antonucci M, Illuminati S, Scarponi G, Riolo P, Isidoro N, Conti C, Zarantoniello M, Cipriani R, Olivotto I (2020) Fatty acids profile of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens): Influence of feeding substrate based on coffee-waste silverskin enriched with microalgae. Anim Feed Sci Technol 259:114309
Verdouw H, Van Echteld CJA, Dekkers EMJ (1978) Ammonia determination based on indophenol formation with sodium salicylate. Water Res 12:399–402
Xiao X, Jin P, Zheng L, Cai M, Yu Z, Yu J, Zhang J (2018) Effects of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae meal protein as a fishmeal replacement on the growth and immune index of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco). Aquacult Res 49:1569–1577
Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical Analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, USA., p 663
Zeitz JO, Fennhoff J, Kluge H, Stangl GI, Eder K (2015) Effects of dietary fats rich in lauric and myristic acid on performance, intestinal morphology, gut microbes, and meat quality in broilers. Poult Sci 94:2404–2413
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank John Howe for assisting with fabricating the units used to produce the black soldier fly larvae
Funding
This study was funded from a NIFA Evans-Allen project (project #: ARX05062) and a NIFA Capacity Building Grant (award #: 2019- 38821–29047).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
NE measured the ammonia and urea content and ran the second study. NR wrote the manuscript, cultured the larvae and provided funding/supervision. HF ran the first study and organized the data. AKS assisted with measuring the ammonia and urea content. NE, NR and HF conceived this study.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Egnew, N., Romano, N., Fischer, H. et al. Purging black solider fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) compromises their nutritive value as a feedstuff. Int J Trop Insect Sci 41, 3279–3286 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-021-00491-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-021-00491-x