What is the current state of research and development in insect protein feed production?
What is the current status of research and development in insect protein feed production?
For a long time, there has been a saying in the field of nutritional science: four-legged is not as good as two-legged, two-legged is not as good as one-legged, and one-legged is not as good as legless, but the evaluation of feed nutritional value is still based on the German proximate nutrient analysis, only with additional items such as sugars, amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids. From the perspective of a formulator, the measured values obtained are difficult to use as a basis for inferring livestock and poultry production performance. There are many protein feed ingredients, but no more than 20 are truly developed and utilized on a large scale. As the most numerous group in the biological world with the highest reproductive efficiency, insects have gradually gained popularity for their nutritional value. However, given the cautionary precedents of "nutria" and "Yilishen". Here, I invite knowledgeable experts to discuss the current state of research and development of insect protein feed, and share it with friends on the forum.
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It is said that domestic research and development of insect protein feed is basically in step with that abroad, and among the main measured indicators:
(1) Lysine 2.84%, methionine 0.66%, threonine 1.55%, tryptophan 0.41%, aspartic acid 2.36%, cystine 0.72%, serine 1.94%, glutamic acid 5.66%, glycine 3.06%, alanine 2.07%, valine 1.84%, isoleucine 1.20%, leucine 2.38%, tyrosine 1.36%, phenylalanine 1.50%, histidine 0.45%, arginine 2.66%, proline 2.49%.
(2) Pepsin digestibility 71.4%
Correspondingly, the Peruvian fishmeal standard stipulates that the pepsin digestibility of high-quality fishmeal should be 94.0%-95.0%; the digestibility of single-cell protein is 75%, pigs are omnivorous animals, and their digestibility of organic matter in feed is generally around 70%, mainly carried out in the small intestine. The digestibility of green grass and high-quality hay is 64.6% and 51.2%.
From the above, it can be seen that merely as a source of feed protein, the quality of insect feed is only moderate.
However, antimicrobial peptides and chitin, two of the recent research hotspots, are both extracted from insects, and both have a clear effect on improving the disease resistance and immunity of livestock and poultry. From the perspective of farming practice, breeding hens fed live insects have higher fertilization rates and hatchability than those fed ordinary corn-soybean meal type feed. And the eggs produced by commercial laying hens fed fly maggot meal are also better than ordinary eggs in appearance, color and taste. Therefore, insect feed should also be a functional feed source.
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It is said that domestic research and development of insect protein feed is basically in step with that abroad, and among the main measured indicators:
(1) Lysine 2.84%, methionine 0.66%, threonine 1.55%, tryptophan 0.41%, aspartic acid 2.36%, cystine 0.72%, serine 1.94%, glutamic acid 5.66%, glycine 3.06%, alanine 2.07%, valine 1.84%, isoleucine 1.20%, leucine 2.38%, tyrosine 1.36%, phenylalanine 1.50%, histidine 0.45%, arginine 2.66%, proline 2.49%.
(2) Pepsin digestibility 71.4%
Correspondingly, the Peruvian fishmeal standard stipulates that the pepsin digestibility of high-quality fishmeal should be 94.0%-95.0%; the digestibility of single-cell protein is 75%, pigs are omnivorous animals, and their digestibility of organic matter in feed is generally around 70%, mainly carried out in the small intestine. The digestibility of green grass and high-quality hay is 64.6% and 51.2%.
From the above, it can be seen that merely as a source of feed protein, the quality of insect feed is only moderate.
However, antimicrobial peptides and chitin, two of the recent research hotspots, are both extracted from insects, and both have a clear effect on improving the disease resistance and immunity of livestock and poultry. From the perspective of farming practice, breeding hens fed live insects have higher fertilization rates and hatchability than those fed ordinary corn-soybean meal type feed. And the eggs produced by commercial laying hens fed fly maggot meal are also better than ordinary eggs in appearance, color and taste. Therefore, insect feed should also be a functional feed source.