The Effect of Strain and Rearing Medium on the Chemical Composition, Fatty Acid Profile and Carotenoid Content in Silkworm (Bombyx mori) Pupae

Animals

Silvia Cappellozza¹  Alessio Saviane¹  Camilla Chieco²  Lucia Morrone²  Giampaolo Bertazza²  Nicola Di Virgilio²  Federica Rossi²  Francesco Gai³ 

[1]Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment—Sericulture Laboratory of Padua, Via Eulero, 6a—35143 Padova, Italy

[2]Institute of Biometeorology, National Research Council, via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy

[3]Institute of Sciences of Food Production- National Research Council, L.go P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy

关键词: insects;    silkworm;    rearing technology;    alternative feed;    protein source;    fatty acid profile;    carotenoids;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani9030103

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The overexploitation of fishmeal and soy for the feedstuff industry has provided an opportunity to employ insects as an unconventional and more environmental friendly protein source. The evaluation of the nutritive properties of different insect species has consequently become a priority. The present study compares the pupal nutritive composition of two silkworm strains (White Cocoon Polyhybrid and Golden Yellow Cocoon Nistari) fed on two different rearing media (fresh mulberry leaves and a commercial artificial diet). Our results provide evidence that the composition of the feeding substrate strongly influences the fat and protein content of silkworm pupae. The two tested strains had higher fat and lower protein contents when fed with silkworm natural food (mulberry leaves) with respect to the commercial artificial diet. The analysis also showed that the n3/n6 ratio was affected almost exclusively by the feed substrate factor. On the contrary, the carotenoid content in pupae was specifically determined by the strain. The study identifies the interesting opportunity offered by silkworm pupae, which are usually a waste product of the silk-reeling process, to be used as alternative animal protein sources in a fully-closed circular production.

【 授权许可】

Unknown