The Nutrient Composition of Three Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Species, Aedes caspius, Anopheles hyrcanus, and Culex pipiens, Harvested from Rice Fields for Their Potential Utilization as Poultry Feed Ingredients

Androniki Christaki, Kyriaki G. Zinoviadou, Vassiliki T. Papoti, Michael Miaoulis and Alexandra Chaskopoulou ()
Additional contact information
Androniki Christaki: USDA-ARS European Biological Control Laboratory, 55102 Thessaloniki, Greece
Kyriaki G. Zinoviadou: Department of Food Science and Technology, Perrotis College, American Farm School, 55102 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vassiliki T. Papoti: Department of Food Science and Technology, Perrotis College, American Farm School, 55102 Thessaloniki, Greece
Michael Miaoulis: USDA-ARS European Biological Control Laboratory, 55102 Thessaloniki, Greece
Alexandra Chaskopoulou: USDA-ARS European Biological Control Laboratory, 55102 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: Increasing pressure on the world’s livestock production sector has stirred interest towards the exploration of insects as an alternative feed source. We examined the potential of wild-caught mosquitoes, harvested from rice-fields, to be utilised as poultry feed. Three mosquito species were identified in high abundance, namely Aedes caspius , Anopheles hyrcanus , and Culex pipiens , and their nutritional and microbiological profile was assessed at the species-level and as mixed samples collected from two different seasons (summer 2020 and 2021). Their nutritional potential was evaluated based on protein, fat, moisture and ash content, fatty acid and mineral profile, and antioxidant activity. The microbiological profile of each mosquito species was assessed by measuring the population of total viable count, Enterobacteriaceae , lactic acid bacteria, and coagulase-positive Staphylococci . Obtained values were compared to common edible insects and conventional livestock feedstuff. All mosquito samples presented an overall promising nutritional composition, stable between the two harvest seasons. Mosquitoes’ protein and fat content ranged from 54 to 62% and 16 to 28%, respectively. The examined species presented statistically significant differences in certain cases; Anopheles hyrcanus had the highest protein content (61.8% dry weight basis; dwb) and the highest antioxidant potential (45.9% ability to scavenge the DPPH radical). All mosquito samples were rich in minerals, containing high concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, minerals essential for poultry development. The GC/MS fatty acid profile revealed a high unsaturated character (65.2–71.5%), a predominance of palmitic (23.8–30.4%), palmitoleic (28.5–37.0%), and oleic (18.3–29.1%) acids, as well as the presence of essential linolenic (1.4–5.2%) and eicosipentanoic (1.5–2.4%) acids. The presence of microorganisms was confirmed across all species, at levels comparable to fresh food harvested from soil and farmed edible insects. Mosquitoes harvested from rice-fields exhibited an overall highly nutritious, stable profile, comparable and even superior to common feedstuff and edible insects, showing potential to be utilised as poultry feed components.

Keywords: insects; alternative protein source; minerals; feed safety; animal feed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/21/13852/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/21/13852/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:21:p:13852-:d:952766

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().