Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Effect of Narrowband UV-B Irradiation on the Growth Performance of House Crickets
    (Basel : MDPI, 2022) Psarianos, Marios; Fricke, Anna; Ojha, Shikha; Baldermann, Susanne; Schreiner, Monika; Schlüter, Oliver K.
    Indoor co-cultivation systems can answer to the need for sustainable and resilient food production systems. Rearing organisms under light-emitting diodes (LEDs) irradiation provides the possibility to control and shape the emitted light spectra. UV-B-irradiation (280–315 nm) can positively affect the nutritional composition of different plants and other organisms, whereas information on edible insects is scarce. To evaluate the potential effect of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and LED-emitting LEDs on the rearing and nutritional quality of edible insects, house crickets (Acheta domesticus) were reared from the age of 21 days under controlled LED spectra, with an additional UV-B (0.08 W/m2) dose of 1.15 KJm2 d−1 (illuminated over a period for 4 h per day) for 34 days. UV-B exposure showed no harm to the weight of the crickets and significantly increased their survival by ca. 10% under narrowband UV-B treatment. The nutritional composition including proteins, fat and chitin contents of the insects was not affected by the UV-B light and reached values of 60.03 ± 10.41, 22.38 ± 2.12 and 9.33 ± 1.21%, respectively, under the LED irradiation. Therefore, house crickets can grow under LED irradiation with a positive effect of narrowband UV-B application on their survival.
  • Item
    Effect of Cereal α-Amylase/Trypsin Inhibitors on Developmental Characteristics and Abundance of Digestive Enzymes of Mealworm Larvae (Tenebrio molitor L.)
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Sagu, Sorel Tchewonpi; Landgräber, Eva; Henkel, Ina M; Huschek, Gerd; Homann, Thomas; Bußler, Sara; Schlüter, Oliver K.; Rawel, Harshadrai
    The objective of this work was to investigate the potential effect of cereal α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) on growth parameters and selective digestive enzymes of Tenebrio molitor L. larvae. The approach consisted of feeding the larvae with wheat, sorghum and rice meals containing different levels and composition of α-amylase/trypsin inhibitors. The developmental and biochemical characteristics of the larvae were assessed over feeding periods of 5 h, 5 days and 10 days, and the relative abundance of α-amylase and selected proteases in larvae were determined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Overall, weight gains ranged from 21% to 42% after five days of feeding. The larval death rate significantly increased in all groups after 10 days of feeding (p < 0.05), whereas the pupation rate was about 25% among larvae fed with rice (Oryza sativa L.) and Siyazan/Esperya wheat meals, and only 8% and 14% among those fed with Damougari and S35 sorghum meals. As determined using the Lowry method, the protein contents of the sodium phosphate extracts ranged from 7.80 ± 0.09 to 9.42 ± 0.19 mg/mL and those of the ammonium bicarbonate/urea reached 19.78 ± 0.16 to 37.47 ± 1.38 mg/mL. The total protein contents of the larvae according to the Kjeldahl method ranged from 44.0 and 49.9 g/100 g. The relative abundance of α-amylase, CLIP domain-containing serine protease, modular serine protease zymogen and C1 family cathepsin significantly decreased in the larvae, whereas dipeptidylpeptidase I and chymotrypsin increased within the first hours after feeding (p < 0.05). Trypsin content was found to be constant independently of time or feed material. Finally, based on the results we obtained, it was difficult to substantively draw conclusions on the likely effects of meal ATI composition on larval developmental characteristics, but their effects on the digestive enzyme expression remain relevant.