Evaluation of Standardized Ileal Digestibility of Amino Acids and Metabolic Availability of Methionine in Partially-defatted Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal Fed to Growing Pigs

Abstract

As food and animal protein demand increases, black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) meal has gained interest in the past couple of years for use in animal feed as an alternative protein ingredient. Black soldier fly larvae is an attractive protein source; however, it is important to evaluate its amino acid (AA) digestibility and metabolic availability (MA) before incorporation in feed formulation. The global objectives of this thesis were to determine the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) coefficient of AA and MA of methionine using the indicator AA oxidation (IAAO) method from BSFL meal, and to compare the results from the two protein quality methodologies. The SID coefficient of indispensable AA in BSFL meal was found to be above 83%, while the MA of methionine was found to be 53.33%. This finding further confirms that SID coefficient tends to overestimate AA bioavailability and that MA is a more accurate representation of bioavailability.