Addition of Olive Pomace to Feeding Substrate Affects Growth Performance and Nutritional Value of Mealworm ( Tenebrio Molitor L.) Larvae

• Published in: Foods Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 317
• Main Authors: Ruschioni, Sara, Loreto, Nino, Foligni, Roberta, Mannozzi, Cinzia, Raffaelli, Nadia, Zamporlini, Federica, Pasquini, Marina, Roncolini, Andrea, Cardinali, Federica, Osimani, Andrea, Aquilanti, Lucia, Isidoro, Nunzio, Riolo, Paola, Mozzon, Massimo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 10-03-2020; MDPI AG
• Subjects: fatty acids; mealworm; olive by-products; pomace; tenebrio molitor; pomace; mealworm; olive by-products; fatty acids; Tenebrio molitor
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods9030317

The well-recognized efficiency of
larvae to convert low quality organic matter into a nutritionally valuable biomass was exploited to manage solid wastes coming from the olive oil industry, which represent a severe environmental challenge in the Mediterranean area. Three organic pomace-enriched substrates (mixtures middlings/pomace 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3) were assessed, together with 100% organic wheat flour and 100% organic middlings as control feeds. A feeding substrate made up of 25% olive pomace and 75% wheat middlings appeared to be the best compromise between growth performance (larval and pupal weights, survival rate, development time) and nutritional properties of mealworm larvae. In fact, larvae fed the 3:1 feed showed the highest dry matter (DM) yield (38.05%), protein content (47.58% DM), and essential/non-essential amino acids ratio (1.16). Fat content (32.14% DM) and fatty acid composition were not significantly different than those of larvae fed more pomace-enriched feeds.