Recent advances in role of insects as alternative protein source in poultry nutrition

Insects are considered as a potential substitute for fishmeal (FM) and soybean meal (SBM) in feeding mixtures for poultry diets. The intent of this paper is to appraise the current work relating to the use of insects as alternative protein in poultry feeding and the potential of large production of insects for the poultry feed industry. Certainly insects have a mammoth prospective as a protein source and other active substances (i.e. polyunsaturated fatty acids, antimicrobial peptides) for poultry. On the basis of numerous studies, insects meal belonging to the orders Diptera (black soldier fly, housefly), Coleoptera (mealworms), Megadrilacea (earthworm), Lepidoptera (silkworm and cirina forda) and Orthoptera (grasshoppers, locust and crickets), may be fruitfully used as feed ingredient in poultry diets. Information regarding their nutritional composition and biological evaluation was collected and compared it to SBM and FM