Foods (Jul 2021)

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

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081773
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 8
p. 1773

Abstract

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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.

Keywords