Table 2.
Proximate composition (% on dry weight basis) (moisture, protein and lipid content) of Tenebrio molitor larvae fed with various substrates.
| Substrate | Moisture (%) | Protein (%) | Lipids (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk-based feed | 62.9 ± 0.5 ab | 68.1 ± 0.3 a | 14.1 ± 0.4 c |
| Wheat bran | 63.9 ± 1.6 a | 63.3 ± 1.8 ab | 19.3 ± 1.4 bc |
| Chickpea flour | 61.8 ± 4.4 ab | 62.9 ± 0.1 abc | n.d. |
| Wheat by-product | 60.0 ± 0.8 ab | 59.6 ± 1.2 bcd | n.d. |
| Millet grains | 61.5 ± 2.2 ab | 58.9 ± 0.3 bcde | n.d. |
| Buckwheat flour | 62.7 ± 0.7 ab | 58.2 ± 1.9 bcdef | n.d. |
| Whole meal flour | 62.1 ± 0.6 ab | 56.1 ± 0.8 cdef | n.d. |
| Egg-layer hen feed | 58.1 ± 1.0 b | 55.2 ± 2.2 def | 23.6 ± 3.0 b |
| Rye flakes | 66.6 ± 2.1 a | 55.0 ± 0.5 def | n.d. |
| Semolina (fine) | 63.1 ± 0.5 ab | 53.5 ± 0.1 def | n.d. |
| Semolina (coarse) | 61.7 ± 0.5 ab | 53.0 ± 1.2 def | n.d. |
| Barley meal (for feed) | 62.3 ± 1.0 ab | 52.7 ± 1.2 def | n.d. |
| White flour | 62.5 ± 1.8 ab | 52.2 ± 1.3 ef | n.d. |
| Zea flour | 61.2 ± 0.6 ab | 52.0 ± 0.8 f | n.d. |
| Durum wheat flour | 60.0 ± 0.4 ab | 41.4 ± 0.4 g | 38.8 ± 1.4 a |
| F | 2.2 | 29.4 | 18.1 |
| P | 0.022 | < 0.001 | < 0.001 |
Within each column, means followed by the same lowercase letter are not significantly different (for moisture and protein content df = 14, 44, whereas for lipid content df = 3, 11; Tukey–Kramer HSD test at P = 0.05).
n.d. not determined.