Effect of microalgal feeds on growth performance and nutritional composition of superworm (Zophobas morio), a candidate for aquaculture nutrition
Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1163/23524588-bja10430
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Insects as Food and Feed
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biological Science Database (ProQuest)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: amino acids, fatty acids, growth, microalgae, Zophobas morio
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The aquaculture industry has long been trying to find alternatives to replace fish meal and fish oil, which are the major conventional ingredients of the commercial fish feeds. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different commercial microalgal diets on growth performance, proximate, amino acid and fatty acid compositions of superworm (Zophobas morio), a potential candidate for fishmeal replacement in aquafeeds. At the end of the 28-day feeding trial, the weight gain of superworm cultured on Algamac3050 substrate was similar to control group, but was significantly higher than those fed the other diets. However, total length of superworm cultured on all microalgae substrates were lower than the control group. Crude protein level was significantly higher in superworm cultured on Naturiga substrate in comparison to the other groups. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) such as arachidonic acid (ARA; C20:4n-6), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5n-3), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6n-3) were detected in superworm only when cultured on Algamac3050, Algome and ProteinPlus substrates. Total essential amino acid (EAA) contents were significantly higher in larvae fed the Algamac3050, Algome and ProteinPlus diets in comparison to the control and the other 2 diets ( P < 0.05[jls-end-space/]). This is the first study to show that microalgal products can be efficiently used in superworm larvae culture. Our overall results indicate that superworm larvae might be enriched in terms of LC-PUFAs and essential amino acids when cultured on dietary microalgae products such as Algamac3050, Algome and ProteinPlus, which makes them an important dietary raw material for aquaculture nutrition. Further studies are needed to investigate the long-term cultivation of ZM larvae using different substrates supplemented with different microalgae strains to investigate affect on the growth parameters, as well as the enrichment efficiency of LC-PUFAs, essential amino acids and other nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.