Effect of feeding strategy on the protein and fatty acid contents of black soldier fly prepupae (Hermetia illucens) for the potential applications as animal feed and promising alternative protein-rich food

Abstract

There is considerable interest in the exploring of an alternative protein source due to ever-growing population in the world. Black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, can be a promising alternative protein-rich food due to its high protein content as compared to livestock. This study investigated the effect of different feeding strategies on the crude protein of BSF prepupae (BSFP) to further enhance the protein contents. The feeding strategy was done at BSFP stage using two different diets which were a mixture of food waste as a control, and bacterial dried cells. Protein and fatty acid content analyses were done on the freeze-dried BSFP samples harvested on day 4 after feeding in order to determine the crude protein and fatty acid. BSFP fed with lyophilized cells showed enhancement in the nutritional contents, compared to the conventional feeding strategy using food waste, with increased crude protein content by 17%. This study demonstrated that the bacterial dried cells can be utilized as a single cell protein to further increase the protein content in the BSFP body which can be applied for the animal feed and potential human consumption.