Nutritional value and functional properties of insect meal in fish feeds.

Supervisor: Prof.ssa Francesca Tulli

Aquaculture is expected to substantially support the protein supply for the human diet. Consequently, the industry and scientific community are asked to make great efforts to find eco-friendlier alternatives to fish-based ingredients to meet the expected increase in aquafeed production. Among the different innovative and alternative ingredients, insects seem to be an ideal candidate. Indeed, their ability to renewal waste and their potential usage as feed in livestock and aquaculture production has attracted the attention of the European Council. The EC Regulation 893/2017 has defined seven breeding insect species that could be allowed in the fish diet. Insects have high protein content (up to 74.4% of dry matter) and a balanced amino acid profile that is similar to fish meal in the case of Dipterans. They are also rich in lipids (10–50% of dry matter), vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and selenium.

The use of insect meal as a partial substitute for conventional protein sources has been investigated for several livestock and aquaculture species; promising results have been observed for fish growth performance, diet digestibility even if with different results. Insects are also reported to contain bioactive compounds that encourage their use as potential functional ingredients for animal feeding and food.

The goal of this research project is to investigate the functional properties of bioactive compounds from insects on the metabolism, gut morphology and physiology, and immunological traits of rainbow trout fed semi-purified diets under controlled experimental conditions. To replace experimental animals, when possible, non-invasive methods will also be developed, such as the estimation of nutrient bioavailability of marketable available insect meals for rainbow trout.

Biography and Contacts:

Giulia Pascon was born in Conegliano, Italy on 22/12/1993. In 2016, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Animal Health and Breeding at the University of Udine. In July 2019, she obtained her master’s degree in Animal Breeding and Welfare with the specialization in research and development in aquaculture nutrition with a final grade of 110 with honour at the University of Udine and for her dissertation gained the 2019 Assalzoo Award. During the university period, she enrolled as student under the EU ERASMUS program at the CIIMAR (Porto, PT) during her bachelor course; thereafter she spent a traineeship period during the master’s degree at the IFREMER station (Palavas les Flots, FR) under the EU-Erasmus program. She gained the access to the teaching role (24 CFU for teaching) according to the Italian rules. From September 2019 until January 2020 she started a practical traineeship at the Laboratories of the Aquaculture division of the University of Udine. Since November 2020 she is attending the PhD course in “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

pascon.giulia@spes.uniud.it