Assessment of Full-Fat ITenebrio molitor/I as Feed Ingredient for ISolea senegalensis/I: Effects on Growth Performance and Lipid Profile

• Published in: Animals (Basel) 2024-02, Vol.14 (4)
• Main Authors: Hachero-Cruzado, Ismael, Betancor, Mónica B, Coronel-Dominguez, Antonio Jesús, Manchado, Manuel, Alarcón-López, Francisco Javier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Ecological footprint; Environmental sustainability; Feed industry; Growth; Monounsaturated fatty acids; Omega-3 fatty acids
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani14040595

Yellow mealworm is considered as one of the most promising protein sources for replacing fish meal in aquafeeds, among other things because is rich in protein, a good source of micronutrients and exhibits low carbon footprint and land usage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of substituting partial plant or marine-derived ingredients with full-fat yellow mealworm meal at two different levels on the growth performance and fatty acid profiles of Senegalese sole. For this purpose, the study tested a control diet and four experimental diets. Two of the experimental diets substituted marine-derived ingredients for insect meal at two levels (5 and 10%), while the other two substituted components of vegetable origin for insect meal (10 and 15%). The addition of insect meal resulted in an increase in growth rate in both cases, whether replacing fish or plant meals. This led to a decrease in muscle total lipid while maintaining the relative levels of n-3 PUFA and DHA, ultimately improving the lipid health indices n-3: n-6. Tenebrio molitor (TM) is considered as one of the most promising protein sources for replacing fish meal in aquafeeds, among other things because it is rich in protein, a good source of micronutrients and has a low carbon footprint and land use. However, the main drawback of TM is its fatty acid profile, in particular its low content of n-3 PUFA. This study evaluates the effects of partially replacing plant or marine-derived with full-fat TM meal at two different levels on growth performance and lipid profiles of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). For this purpose, a control diet (CTRL) and four experimental isoproteic (53%) and isolipidic (16%) diets were formulated containing 5 and 10% TM meal replacing mostly fish meal (FM5 and FM10), or 10 and 15% TM meal replacing mostly plant meal (PP10 and PP15). Fish (215 g) were fed at 1% of their body weight for 98 days. The final body weight of fish fed the experimental diets containing TM meal was not different from that of fish fed the CTRL diet (289 g). However, the inclusion of TM meal resulted in a gradual improvement in growth rate and feed efficiency in both cases (replacement of fish or plant meals), and significant differences in specific growth rate (SGR) were observed between fish fed the CTRL diet (SGR = 0.30% day[sup.−1]) and those fed diets with the highest TM meal content (PP15; SGR = 0.35% day[sup.−1]). The experimental groups did not show any differences in the prote