Valorizing Organic Waste Through Black Soldier Fly Larvae ( Hermetia illucens ): A Sustainable Solution for Aquafeeds with Key Nutrients and Natural Bioactive Polyphenols

Julio Camperio (), Jorge A. Suarez, Justin Simonton, Eli Paresky, Jorge Parodi and Daniel D. Benetti ()
Additional contact information
Julio Camperio: Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Jorge A. Suarez: Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Justin Simonton: Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Eli Paresky: Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Jorge Parodi: Sociedad Laboratorio, Investigacion y Educacion Chavez-Parodi Limitada, Tonalli Ltda, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Daniel D. Benetti: Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), Hermetia illucens , present a transformative approach to sustainable aquaculture and waste management by converting organic waste into nutrient-rich biomass. This study highlights BSFL-derived products as a sustainable alternative for aquafeeds, delivering essential nutrients and significant concentrations of bioactive and antioxidative polyphenols. We evaluated five organic waste types—Kitchen Waste (KW), Agricultural Waste (AW), Aquaculture Sludge (AS), Aquaculture Offal (AO), and a Mixed diet (MX)—assessing their impact on BSFL growth, Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), bioconversion, Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), survival, and nutritional composition, including Total Polyphenol Concentration (TPC). This is the first report to document and quantify the transfer of polyphenols from waste substrates to larvae, showing that larvae fed plant-based feeds contained significantly higher (5.8–7.4 mg GAE/100 g) TPC than those fed with an animal-based feed (0.60–0.9 mg GAE/100 g) ( p < 0.05). Our findings emphasize the potential of BSFL to integrate waste valorization into circular economy frameworks, reduce organic waste, and enhance aquafeeds’ functional properties, contributing to ocean sustainability and the global transition to more sustainable aquaculture practices.

Keywords: sustainable aquaculture; circular economy; waste valorization; organic waste recycling; functional feed additive; bioactive polyphenols; black soldier fly larvae (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1788/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/5/1788/ (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:17:y:2025:i:5:p:1788-:d:1595528

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 ().