Combined Dietary Supplementation of <i>Tenebrio molitor</i> Larvae and Chitosan in Growing Pigs: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Nowadays, the global animal industry faces considerable challenges in securing sufficient feed resources. Responding to consumer demands for reduced use of antibiotics in animal nutrition, better animal welfare status, and reduced impact on the environment, there is an increased urgency to develop innovative functional feeds with a reduced environmental footprint and the ability to improve meat quality and safety. In an effort to explore innovative feed ingredients for growing pig diets, the combined dietary supplementation of Tenebrio molitor larvae and chitosan was investigated. An experimental trial was performed with 48 weaned pigs (34 days of life; mixed sex) that were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (with six males and six females each): Group A (control), Group B (supplemented with T. molitor larvae at 10%), Group C (supplemented with chitosan at 0.05%), and Group D (supplemented with both ingredients at 10% and 0.05%, respectively). On the 42nd day of the experimental trial, samples of blood, feces, and carcass parts were taken for analysis. The results indicated that the insect larvae meal significantly improved (p p p p p p > 0.05), but it significantly increased blood lymphocyte content (p p p p p p T. molitor and chitosan significantly affected some important zootechnical parameters (p p p p < 0.05). Further investigation into the potential interaction between insect larvae meals and chitosan in pig diets is advised.

Keywords

• insects
• insect meal
• chitin
• swine
• performance
• health