Proteína bruta da farinha de minhoca da espécie Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) submetida a diferentes tratamentos térmicos

Abstract

A trial was carried out to evaluate crude protein of earthworm meal, specie Eisenia fetida, subjected to different thermic treatments. A total of 480 adult and clitellum earthworms were fed with dairy cattle manure from Dutch breed. A completely randomized design was used with two treatments: earthworms dehydrated in microwave oven (T1) and earthworms dehydrated in conventional forced air oven (T2). Each treatment had six replications. Crude protein data were subjected to ANOVA and the averages were compared with the Tukey test at 5%. The results showed that microwave oven method did not alter the crude protein content of earthworm meat. Therefore, it might be used for the preparation of earthworm meal. The utilization of conventional forced air oven at 150oC for 2 hours does not lead to the enzymatic darkness of earthworm meat. The substitution of forced air oven with microwave oven for the preparation of Eisenia fetida meal speeds up the dehydration process.