Elsevier

Aquaculture

Volume 473, 20 April 2017, Pages 115-120
Aquaculture

Potential use of mealworms as an alternative protein source for Pacific white shrimp: Digestibility and performance

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2017.02.008Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Mealworm was evaluated for its potential as a future alternative protein source to fishmeal.

  • This study compares the digestibility of mealworm at different inclusion levels for Pacific white shrimp.

  • Methionine was the first limiting amino acid in mealworm for the Pacific white shrimp.

  • Performance was not affected when fishmeal was totally replaced by mealworm.

Abstract

Mealworm meal (MM) was evaluated for its potential as a future protein source for the farmed shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) were determined using a reference diet and a test diet that contained 85% reference diet and 15% MM, both contained 0.5% chromic oxide as an inert marker. Subsequently, considering the digestible values of MM, after six weeks of culture under clear water using five diets containing different levels of fishmeal replaced by MM (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%), the growth parameters and the whole shrimp body composition were evaluated. The values of the ADC were: 45.9% for dry matter, 66.5% for energy and 76.1% for crude protein while the ADC for essential amino acids ranged from 72% to 86%. Methionine was the first limiting amino acid in MM. Weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake, feed conversion, survival and protein retention were not affected when fishmeal was replaced by MM (P > 0.05). The protein content of the shrimp body showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the treatments. However, lipid content of the shrimp body increased from 1.13% to 1.88% when fishmeal was replaced by MM. These results suggest that mealworm meal can be utilized as an alternative protein source for L. vannamei juveniles, although methionine should be added as a supplement.

Introduction

The shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, also known as the Pacific white shrimp, was responsible for 80% of the world production amongst all farmed shrimp species in 2014, reaching 3,668,682 t (FAO, 2016). Considering the results of advances in genetics, nutrition and the modernization of farming techniques, it is estimated that the production of L. vannamei will increase by > 10% in the next fifteen years (World Bank, 2013). However, the expansion of shrimp production has increased the demand for fishmeal, of which production has remained relatively constant over the last decades (FAO, 2012, Samocha et al., 2004). Thus, a large part of the nutritional research has been focused on the search for alternative protein sources to reduce the dependence on fishmeal in shrimp diets (Bauer et al., 2012, Molina-Poveda et al., 2015, Oujifard et al., 2012).

Insects have been highlighted by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations as a sustainable high protein feed ingredient (FAO, 2013). Generally, depending on the species, stage of development (larval, pupae, nymph, adult) and diet, insects can be highly nutritious and are a good source of proteins, lipids, minerals, vitamins and energy (Barroso et al., 2014). Moreover, their production requires less land and water (Oonincx and de Boer, 2012, van Huis, 2013), emits less greenhouse gases and ammonia (Oonincx et al., 2010), promotes high feed conversion efficiency (Shelomi, 2015) and can be fed different types of organic waste, thus reducing environmental contamination (Veldkamp et al., 2012).

Tenebrio molitor, a beetle species of the Tenebrionidae family, better known as the mealworm (in its larval stage), is a promising source of alternative proteins and is already being produced on an industrial scale (FAO, 2013). This insect is commonly produced on mixed grain diets, although it can also consume meat or feathers, amongst others alternatives, due to its omnivorous nature (Ramos-Elorduy et al., 2002, van Broekhoven et al., 2015). It contains on a dry basis high amounts of crude protein (47–60%) and lipid (31–43%), a relatively low of ash content (> 5%) and fresh larvae contain about 60% water, as well as a good source of vitamins and minerals (Makkar et al., 2014). In poultry diets, mealworm is a potential alternative feed source, in particular for replacing soybean meal or fishmeal (Bovera et al., 2016, De Marco et al., 2015, Ramos-Elorduy et al., 2002). In addition, it has already been tested to replace fishmeal for farming rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) common catfish (Ameiurus melas) and tilapia (Oreachromis niloticus) (Belforti et al., 2015, Gasco et al., 2016, Roncarati et al., 2015, Sánchez-Muros et al., 2015). Finke and Oonincx (2014), as well as other authors, claim that the nutritional quality of insect proteins has generally been described as being good. However, their potential for using as alternative feed sources depends on their digestibility and amino acid profile. Hence, the objective of this present study was to determine apparent digestibility coefficients of mealworm meal when used as a feed for shrimp juveniles L. vannamei and its effect on growth and on chemical composition of the shrimp body.

Section snippets

Mealworm meal

The dehydrated mealworms were purchased from the commercial supplier Nutrinsecta Ind. Com. LTDA (Betim, MG, Brazil). The larvae were ground in a cutting mill to obtain a particle size of 800 μm and then stored in plastic bags at − 20 °C until further use.

Biological material

The species used here was the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, from a specific pathogen free linage (SPF) supplied by Aquatec Ltd. (Canguaretama, RN, Brazil). Shrimps were raised in a biofloc system at the Marine Shrimp Laboratory,

Digestibility assay

The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter, crude protein, energy and essential amino acids in MM are shown in Table 4. The ADC of dry matter and energy showed low values, while the protein ADC showed a value of 76.10 ± 6.9%. The essential amino acids ADC values ranged from 72.86% to 86.41%. The percentages of MM inclusion necessary to meet L. vannamei amino acid requirements were estimated and presented in Table 4 based on a 300 g kg 1 digestible protein diet. Methionine was the

Discussion

The mealworm meal (MM) crude protein value observed in this study (Table 2) was similar to that reported by Bernard and Allen (1997), and slightly higher than the value obtained by Siemianowska et al. (2013). According to Aniebo and Owen (2010), these variations can be attributed to the different larval stage utilized in the different studies, and also to different processing methods. The MM essential amino acids profile noted in our study is coherent with that obtained in other studies (Finke,

Conclusion

The performance of L. vannamei was not affected by replacing fishmeal with mealworm meal in the diets utilized in the present study. However, the use of MM should be supplemented by methionine to meet the L. vannamei amino acids requirements. Moreover, when fishmeal was replacement by MM, there was an increase in shrimp body lipid levels without significant changes in protein content.

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the CNPq (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development) for their financial support, the CAPES (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) for the scholarship. Débora M. Fracalossi, Felipe do Nascimento Vieira, Richard I. Samuels, Elane S. Prudêncio, Carlos P. Silva, and Renata D.M.C. Amboni are CNPq research fellows.

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