Effect of the Rearing Substrate on Total Protein and Amino Acid Composition in Black Soldier Fly
Andrea Fuso,
Silvia Barbi,
Laura Ioana Macavei,
Anna Valentina Luparelli,
Lara Maistrello,
Monia Montorsi,
Stefano Sforza,
Augusta Caligiani
Affiliations
Andrea Fuso
Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, Via Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
Silvia Barbi
Interdepartmental Research Center for Industrial Research and Technology Transfer in the Field of Integrated Technologies for Sustainable Research, Efficient Energy Conversion, Energy Efficiency of Buildings, Lighting and Home Automation—En&Tech, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Laura Ioana Macavei
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giovanni Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Anna Valentina Luparelli
Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, Via Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
Lara Maistrello
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giovanni Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Monia Montorsi
Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Giovanni Amendola 2, 42122 Reggio Emilia, Italy
Stefano Sforza
Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, Via Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
Augusta Caligiani
Food and Drug Department, University of Parma, Via Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
Insects are becoming increasingly relevant as protein sources in food and feed. The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is one of the most utilized, thanks to its ability to live on many leftovers. Vegetable processing industries produce huge amounts of by-products, and it is important to efficiently rear BSF on different substrates to assure an economical advantage in bioconversion and to overcome the seasonality of some leftovers. This work evaluated how different substrates affect the protein and amino acid content of BSF. BSF prepupae reared on different substrates showed total protein content varying between 35% and 49% on dry matter. Significant lower protein contents were detected in BSF grown on fruit by-products, while higher contents were observed when autumnal leftovers were employed. BSF protein content was mainly correlated to fibre and protein content in the diet. Among amino acids, lysine, valine and leucine were most affected by the diet. Essential amino acids satisfied the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) requirements for human nutrition, except for lysine in few cases. BSF could be a flexible tool to bio-convert a wide range of vegetable by-products of different seasonality in a high-quality protein-rich biomass, even if significant differences in the protein fraction were observed according to the rearing substrate.
