ARTICLE FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2024 73 Insect feed is useful for poultry because: • Traditional crops such as soy or corn for protein source are very costly • Chickens love insects • They improve overall health • They promote natural behavior • Insect feed increases productivity in poultry • Insect feed have prebiotic effect • Insect feed is more sustainable NUTRIENT COMPOSITIONS Insects constitute a high quantity protein source, being rich in essential amino acids and lipids. The protein contents of insect meal can significantly vary, ranging from almost 40-60% (El -Sabrout et al., 2023). The majority of edible insect species exhibit adequate levels of essential amino acids, including tyrosine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, lysine and threonine (WHO, 2007). Insets primarily store carbohydrate in two forms: chitin and glycogen (Triunfo et al., 2021). Edible insects contain varying amount of carbohydrates (mealworms: 14-18%, crickets: 10-20%, grasshoppers: 11-21%, silkworm pupae: 10-20% ants: 2-15% (Weru et al., 2021). Insect have been found to contain a variable content ranging from 2-62% with high amount of unsaturated fatty acids constituting up to total fatty acid content. The vitamin content of insects is not particularly high. They do contain notable amount of vitamins A, C, D and E (Williams et al., 2016). Insects such as crickets and termites have varying mineral contents, with some being high in Mg, Zn and Cu while others such as grasshoppers and mealworms have higher levels of Cu, Mg, Mn and Zn. However, insects are usually low in sodium, calcium and potassium (Mwangi et al., 2018). DIGESTIBILITY OF INSECT-BASED FEEDS IN POULTRY DIETS Limited data are available regarding the digestibility of such nutrients in selected for livestock production. According to De Macro et al (2015), insect meals are an excellent source of apparent metabolizable energy and a useful source of digestible amino acids for broilers. According to Gasco et al (2019) the digestibility of insect-based meals for animal feed is influenced by multiple factors, including the insect species inclusion levels and processing techniques. Insect meal possesses the potential to serve as a valuable alternative ingredient in the formulation of animal feeds. EFFECT OF FEEDING INSECT MEAL IN POULTRY Due to its nutritional composition, insect male improves growth performance and the exoskeleton of insects mainly consists of chitin, which improves the immune system of chicken. Chitin and chitin derivatives can stimulate the innate immune cells (Lee et al., 2008). Chitin contains about 5% nitrogen (Chu et al., 2020). Broiler chickens fed the containing mealworm meal have better disease resistance and immune response due Insect Nutrient (% DM basis) Reference Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) Field cricket (Gryllus brinaculatus) Black soldier fly(Hermitaillucens) House fly (Musca domestica) Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Grasshopper (Caelifera suborder) Rahimi et al. (2023) Hadi et al. (2021) Schmitt et al. (2020) Uushona et al. (2019) Bahadori et al. (2017) Akande et al. (2020) Kariuki et al. (2022) DM(97.02), CP(53.83), EE(28.03), Ash(6.99), CF(7.53), Chitin(5.6) Ca(0.06), P(1.10) CP(58.3), CF(9.5), EE(11.9), Ash(9.7) CP(42.2), Chitin(5-6), EE(21.8), Ash(10.0), Ca(7.0), P(1.00), K(0.69), Na(0.13), Mg(0.39), Fe(0.14), Mn(246), Zn(108), Cu(6) CP(55.4), Chitin(6.2), EE(20.8), Ash(6.2) CP(63.0), CF(5.9), Ash(8.9), Na(0.43), Ca(0.53), K(0.62), P(0.94) CP(23.1), CF(14.2), Ash(1.5), CP(28.3), CF(2.38), Ash(9.97), EE(4.18) Table 1. Nutritional profiles (% DM basis) of different insect meals used for poultry feed
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