**5. Conclusion**

The use of insect meal in animal feed has been the subject of research, but the results are varied and divergent. Much is explained by the nutritional variability of insect meal production. In addition to knowing the nutritional values of insects, we must consider the study of insect nutrition, since depending on the species we can modulate the fatty acid profile with EPA and DHA and amino acid profile, mainly in the lysine, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan ratios. Understanding better

*Emerging Technologies, Environment and Research for Sustainable Aquaculture*

protein efficiency ratio [23].

control diets [26].

which confers resistance and flexibility [41].

**4.1 Constraints and future perspectives**

immune system [10] and survival rates [56].

survival, dropping of approximately 9% compared to the control (0% FLT) [40]. In contrast in rainbow trout, there was an increased survival with the inclusion of FLT but lower performance, digestibility, and alteration in the fillet fatty acid profile [24]. Jointly, these data suggest that in the early stages, FLT influences survival that is not pronounced in the final stages. In European juvenile sea bass (*Dicentrarchus labrax*), the inclusion of 25% FLT did not affect growth performance, while a higher inclusion level (50%) compromised the weight gain [25]; similar results were obtained in gilthead seabream juveniles, which included inclusions of 25–50%, compromising weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion efficiency, and

For tilapia [27], used the white larvae dry meal to formulate isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets with maggot meal inclusions at 0, 30, 50, and 80 g/kg substituting gradually three conventional expensive feedstuffs: fish meal, fish oil, and soybean meal. The results showed no significant difference in growth parameters (final weight, weight gain, and SGR) and feed utilization efficiency (FCR and PER and feed intake) between treatments. Similarly fish whole body composition (dry matter, crude protein, lipid, ash, and fiber) was unaffected by the treatments except the fatty acid compositions which mirrored that of the diets. The cockroach (*Nauphoeta cinerea*) meal has also been tested for Nile tilapia with very promising results including superior zootechnical performance as compared to

Insect meals have also been evaluated in biofloc technology system [41–45]. As this system exhibits a series of particularities that separate it from the traditional clear and green water production systems such as recirculating aquaculture system, flow-throw, cages, and ponds, the following findings should be considered within the biofloc context and carefully extrapolated to other production systems. Levels higher than 10% of cockroach meal inclusion decrease the performance of the Nile tilapia juvenile in biofloc technology system, which may be related to the composition of the exoskeleton of the cockroach, especially chitin combined with sclerotin,

The use of tenebrio meal at 10% inclusion rate in the nursery stage of Nile tilapia in biofloc technology system did not affect the performance, somatic, hematological, and carcass composition indexes [42, 44]. Inclusion levels higher than 10% decreased productivity and survival and increased hepatosomatic index and lipid content, and in the carcass, consequence of the high lipid content and antinutritional factors is present in the tenebrio meal. Differently from the previous findings, a trial investigating gradual inclusion levels (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%) of cockroach and tenebrio meal, individually, with *Litopenaeus vannamei* in biofloc technology system, concluded that juvenile shrimp accepted up to 15% of cockroach meal and up to 5% tenebrio meal [43, 45]. There is also a growing interest on the use of insects in shrimp feeds, as seen by several papers lately [46–50]. For additional and more scientific information, there are several papers on this topic

Besides the cost and reliable commercial scale production, the diversity in terms of nutritional profile is considered one of the major issues of insect meal inclusion in aqua feeds. Some constraints were already discussed such as (i) excess lipid, (ii) amino acid imbalance, (iii) the presence of mycotoxins and possible antinutritional factors such as chitin [10], and the endogenous production of 1,4-benzoquinone toxin [55]. These isolated or combined factors may compromise the animal's

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[16, 51–54].

### *Emerging Technologies, Environment and Research for Sustainable Aquaculture*

the factors that limit the inclusion of insect meal, whether there is the presence of mycotoxins, fat rancidification, or unknown antinutritional factors, is one of the challenges to be understood. Some insects may have nutraceutical factors in their composition, which can confer exponential positive results on animal performance and human health. In this sense, the prospects of the use of insect meal in animal nutrition are very encouraging and new nutritional approaches are just starting.
