Nasze patenty i publikacje

Authors: Ognik K., Kozłowski J., Stępniowska, Listos P., Józefiak D., Zduńczyk Z., Jankowski J.

Publications: Animals, 10(8):1339, DOI: 10.3390/ani10081339

Insects can be used as an alternative source of protein and fat in poultry feed. To date, in most research, the administration of invertebrates as a replacement for soybean meal in chicken diets has produced satisfactory results. We hypothesized that full-fat insect meal from Hermetia illucens (HI) larvae can also be an acceptable source of protein and energy in the diet of young turkeys, and at the same time can improve their antioxidant status and metabolism. Our research showed that the level of HI meal in the diet of turkeys should not exceed 5%. The use of a higher level of HI than 5% in the diet of young turkeys has a negative effect on lipid metabolism, lipid oxidation and fat deposition in the liver.

Authors: Jankowski J., Kozłowski K., Zduńczyk Z., Stępniowska A., Ognik K., Kierończyk B., Józefiak D., Juśkiewicz J.

Publications: Animal Feed Science and Technology, DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2021.114879

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of full-fat Hermetia illucens larvae meal (HM) as a protein source in diets for the youngest turkey poults, based on growth performance and parameters of intestinal function, i.e. immune status and fermentation processes in the gut. The experiment was carried on 432 one-day-old male Hybrid Converter turkeys. The birds were randomly divided into four dietary treatment groups, with twelve replicates of nine birds each. During a four-week feeding period, the HM content of turkey diets was 50, 100 and 150 g/kg in groups HM₅₀, HM₁₀₀ and HM₁₅₀, respectively. The highest HM content in the experimental diet HM₁₅₀, limited by high crude fat content, replaced 1/3 of soybean meal (SBM) (295 vs. 429 g/kg) in the control diet HM₀. The inclusion of dietary HM resulted in a linear increase in the dry matter (DM) content and viscosity of small intestinal contents. The highest inclusion rate of HM did not affect IgA levels, but it increased IgY levels in the small intestinal tissue compared with the control treatment. At the same time, dietary HM exerted anti-inflammatory effect by decreasing TNFα and increasing IL-6 levels in small intestinal tissue (linear and quadratic response, respectively). The dietary inclusion of HM increased the activity of selected microbial enzymes (α-galactosidase, β-glucosidase and β-glucuronidase) and butyric acid concentration in the cecal digesta. Increasing inclusion levels of HM did not affect the final body weight (BW) or body weight gain (BWG) of birds, but induced a linear decrease in the feed conversion ratio (FCR). The results of this study indicate that HM can be included in diets for young turkeys at up to 150 g/kg without compromising the immune status or growth performance of birds, intestinal development and function.

Authors: Hoffmann L., Rawski M., Nogales-Merida S., Kołodziejski P., Pruszyńska-Oszmałek E., Mazurkiewicz J.

Publications: Aquaculture Nutrition, DOI: 10.1111/anu.13293

Insect meals are a group of promising feed materials and sources of nutrients. Their production does not entail deforestation, global warming, environmental pollution or decreased biodiversity. One of the most important farmed insect species is mealworm, which is allowed to be used in aquafeeds by the European Commission Regulation no. 2017/893. The aim of this study was to examine four doses of mealworm meal (TM₁₀ = 10%, TM₂₀ = 20%, TM₃₀ = 30% and TM₄₀ = 40%) in sea trout (Salmo trutta m. trutta) fingerling diets and their effects on growth performance, somatic and condition indices, blood parameters, histomorphological characteristics and body composition. Our results showed the most satisfactory growth performance results with 10% mealworm meal. The feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), relative growth rate (RGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) was similar in the control and TM₁₀ group. The lowest fish survival (95%) was occurred in the group of fish fed TM₄₀, and the highest (98.33%) in fish fed control or TM₁₀ diets. The fish condition and the hepatosomatic index were similar among treatments. The histomorphological structures of the intestine and liver were not negatively affected by the experimental diets. The inclusion of up to 40% mealworm meal did not negatively affect growth performance, feed utilization, fish health or survival.

Authors: Kozłowski K., Ognik K., Stępniowska A., Juśkiewicz J. Zduńczyk Z., Kierończyk B., Benzertiha A., Józefiak D., Jankowski J.

Publications: Animal Feed Science and Technology, 278:114994, DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2021.114994

Full-fat insect meals were used in young turkeys feeding as feed additives to exert beneficial changes in the intestinal bacterial ecosystem functioning as well as in the immune and antioxidant systems. Two full-fat insect flours obtained from Tenebrio molitor (TM) and Hermetia illucens (HI) insects were added to the base diet (C) in the amount of 3 g/kg and compared to the control and to the effects following common monensin (MON) addition (dietary treatments: C, MON, TM, and HI). Although, the addition of full-fat insect meals to the diet didn’t improve performance results such as monensin, it does exerted anti-inflammatory, immunostimulatory and antioxidant changes in turkeys’ blood. The HI and TM dietary treatments caused beneficial reduction in the blood total cholesterol content as well as increase in phosphorus which was not noted in MON treatment. The results indicated that in comparison to the control diet without any additives, the MON, TM and HI additives showed non-selective bacteriostatic properties, without adverse intensification of protein fermentation and pH digesta rise in the caeca of young turkeys. The addition of TM and HI similar as MON reduced the enzymatic activity of caecal microbiota, and decreased caecal concentration of all short-chain fatty acids, except butyric one. The caecal ammonia and dry matter concentration, and pH value of digesta were not affected by dietary treatments.

Authors: Chowański S., Walkowiak-Nowicka K., Winkiel M., Marciniak P., Urbański A., Pacholska-Bogalska J.

Publications: Frontiers in Physiology, 12:701203, DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.701203

The insulin-like peptide (ILP) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling pathways play a crucial role in the regulation of metabolism, growth and development, fecundity, stress resistance, and lifespan. ILPs are encoded by multigene families that are expressed in nervous and non-nervous organs, including the midgut, salivary glands, and fat body, in a tissue- and stage-specific manner. Thus, more multidirectional and more complex control of insect metabolism can occur. ILPs are not the only factors that regulate metabolism. ILPs interact in many cross-talk interactions of different factors, for example, hormones (peptide and nonpeptide), neurotransmitters and growth factors. These interactions are observed at different levels, and three interactions appear to be the most prominent/significant: (1) coinfluence of ILPs and other factors on the same target cells, (2) influence of ILPs on synthesis/secretion of other factors regulating metabolism, and (3) regulation of activity of cells producing/secreting ILPs by various factors. For example, brain insulin-producing cells co-express sulfakinins (SKs), which are cholecystokinin-like peptides, another key regulator of metabolism, and express receptors for tachykinin-related peptides, the next peptide hormones involved in the control of metabolism. It was also shown that ILPs in Drosophila melanogaster can directly and indirectly regulate AKH. This review presents an overview of the regulatory role of insulin-like peptides in insect metabolism and how these factors interact with other players involved in its regulation.

Authors: Hoffmann L., Rawski M., Pruszyńska-Oszmałek E., Kołodziejski P., Mazurkiewicz J.

Publications: Aquaculture Reports, 21(1):100795, DOI: 10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100795

Wild salmonid populations are successively decreasing due to environmental changes caused by excessive human activity or climate change. Thus, effective breeding and rearing programs are required that focus on nutritional strategies, including feeding behaviour and starter feeds composed of environmentally sustainable ingredients. In this study, a combined feeding system that included the addition of live food (Artemia salina for 0, 3 or 7 days), test diets (containing insect meals) and the control diet (fishmeal-based) was assessed. Two types of insect meals were used, with one from the larval stage of insects (mealworm and black soldier fly) and the other from the imago stage of insects (Turkestan cockroach and tropical house cricket). The study was carried out on sea trout (Salmo trutta m. trutta) larvae, and the fish growth performance, survival and condition were evaluated during a 60-day feeding trial. Fish body weight, length and condition (CF) were similar in the groups fed the control diet and the groups fed the larval stages of insects. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was comparable in all treatments. The highest weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR) and survival rate (SR) were observed in the fish fed the diet that included larval insect meal. The application of live food did not significantly affect the rearing results, although the type of insect meal had a crucial impact on fish rearing. In summary, diets containing 20 % insect meal from the larval stage may be used as an effective feed component for juvenile fish.

Authors: Urbański A., Walkowiak-Nowicka K., Nowicki G., Chowański S., Rosiński G.

Publications: Frontiers in Physiology, 12:671463, DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.671463

Environmental conditions, especially related to winter, are crucial for shaping activity of insect immune system. However, our previous research clearly indicates differences in the immune system functioning when the cold stress was induced in the laboratory conditions and when the beetles were collected from natural environment during winter. This is probably related to the multiplication of observed effects by simultaneous presence of different stress factors characteristic of winter, including desiccation. For these reasons, our next step was analysis of the effects of short-term desiccation and recovery time on the functioning of immune system of burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. Also, the effect of Tenmo–PVK-2 (tenebrionid periviscerokinin), member of the CAPA–PVK neuropeptide family, was investigated to better understand observed changes. Short-term desiccation decreases the phagocytic activity of burying beetle haemocytes, which is correlated with a reduction in their adhesive ability. On the other hand, there was a significant increase in phenoloxidase (PO) activity and the level of proPO expression, which may suggest sealing the cuticula by melanin deposition and prevention of water loss. Additionally, the elevated level of defensin expression may be associated with the cross-talk between mechanisms, which participate in insect response to environmental stress, including pathogen infection. After 1 h of recovery time, the activity of tested cellular and humoral mechanisms was mostly back to the control level. However, inhibition of the activity of PO and down-regulation of proPO were noted. These results also indicate importance of melanin deposition during water loss. Moreover, it suggests that some changes in immune system functioning during stress conditions do not have an immune function. Interestingly, part of the effects characteristic of recovery time were also observed after the application of Tenmo–PVK-2, mainly related to haemocyte morphology. These results indicate that CAPA–PVK neuropeptides may also influence on activity of burying beetle immune system. It should be also highlighted that, because of the study of the effects of CAPA–PVK neuropeptides, homologs of vertebrate neuromedin U, the results may be interesting for search evolutionary similarities in the functioning of the neuroendocrine system of insects and vertebrates.

Authors: Rawski M., Mazurkiewicz J., Kierończyk B., Józefiak D.

Publications: Animals

The practical use of alternative feed materials must be both sustainable and profitable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of black soldier fly full-fat larvae meal (BSFL) on environmental and economic aspects as well as gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development in Siberian sturgeon nutrition. The experimentally obtained data were used for calculations of fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO) relative usage per kg of fish gain. The economic conversion ratio and profitability per unit of fish gain were assessed also. The samples of intestinal and liver tissues were analysed in terms of villi height, width, and surface, and liver health. The study showed a high potential of BSFL usage up to its highest used incorporation that was 30% of the diet. The environmental sustainability of the diets was increased not only by the reduction in FM and FO use but also by the increase in feed conversion efficiency. Thus, even though the price of BSFL was higher than FM and FO, the profitability of fish production was improved, finding its optimum at the levels of 10% and 15% BSFL incorporation. Moreover, health beneficial effects of BSFL were observed in alterations of GIT development.

Authors: Filipe Coutinho, Carolina Castro, Inês Guerreiro, Fábio Rangel, Ana Couto, Cláudia R. Serra, Helena Peres, Pedro Pousão-Ferreira, Mateusz Rawski, Aires Oliva-Teles, Paula Enes

Publications: Aquaculture, 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736362

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of including 10%, 20% and 30% of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor, TM) larvae meal (diets TM10, TM20 and TM30, respectively), replacing 25%, 50% and 75% of fishmeal (FM) in a isoproteic (50%) and isolipidic (19%) FM-based diet (CTR) for meagre (Argyrosomus regius). The diets were fed for 9 weeks to triplicate groups of fish with 18.0 g initial body weight and results were evaluated for growth performance; whole-body composition; amino acid (AA) catabolism and digestive enzymes activity; nutrients and chitin digestibility. A digestibility trial was also simultaneously conducted for 48 days. Growth and feed utilization parameters decreased linearly as dietary TM inclusion level increased, while mortality, hepatosomatic and visceral indexes, and AA catabolism enzymes activity were unaffected by the dietary treatments. Whole-body protein was reduced in fish fed TM20 and TM30 diets, with the latter group also having lower energy content than fish fed the CTR diet. The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter, energy, protein, and AA (except leucine, valine and phenylalanine), decreased as dietary TM inclusion level increased. The lower ADC of protein was related to a linear decrease in trypsin activity. Lipase and total alkaline protease activities were also lower in fish fed the TM30 diet than in the other groups. A quadratic response of total alkaline protease with the increase of dietary TM meal was similar to that observed in the intensity of zymograms bands corresponding to proteases other than trypsin or chymotrypsin-like. Chitin ADC was null and no chitinolytic activity was found in the intestine. Overall, meagre presented a limited capacity to utilize TM, with a 10% TM dietary inclusion already resulting in significant impairment of fish digestive capacity and growth performance, while higher TM dietary levels further negatively affecting fish whole-body composition.