Insect meals as novel protein sources in retorted pet food for adult cats

Insect meals are novel and potentially sustainable protein sources. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition of 3 selected insect meals [i.e., speckled cockroach (SC), madagascar hissing cockroach (MC) and superworm (SW)] and to determine the effects of these novel ingredients on food intake, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of macronutrients, fecal scores and metabolites of adult cats fed insect- or chicken-based retorted diets. This study consisted of a complete randomized design, with 28 adult cats (mean age = 2.1  0.03 yr; mean BW= 4.9  0.8 kg) randomly assigned to 4 experimental retorted diets: Control (chicken-based diet), SC diet, MC diet, or SW diet. All animal procedures were approved by the University of Illinois Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. All diets were formulated according to AAFCO (2018) nutrient profile for adult cats. The experimental period was 28 d, with 7 d of diet adaptation followed by 21 d of dietary treatment. Total fecal collection was completed during the last 4 d of the experimental period. On d21, fresh fecal sample from each cat was collected for the determination of fecal metabolites. Food was offered twice daily to maintain the cats’ body weight and body condition score. Among the 3 selected insect meals evaluated, oleic acid (113,352-46,353 ug/g), palmitic acid (62,580-19,104 ug/g), linoleic acid (46,265-13,926 ug/g), and stearic acid (21,654-6,473 ug/g) were the most prevalent fatty acids. Branched-chain amino acids and arginine were the most preponderant indispensable amino acids in insect meals. Apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), acid hydrolyzed fat (AHF), and crude protein (CP) did not differ among treatments (P > 0.05) and all diets were well digested by the cats. Similarly, fecal scores did not differ among the treatments and were within the ideal range. Furthermore, no differences (P > 0.05) in fecal metabolite concentrations were observed among cats fed with different experimental diets. In conclusion, the selected insect meals evaluated herein are rich in linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid for cats. Furthermore, cats fed retorted diets containing these insect meals had comparable ATTD of macronutrients, fecal scores and metabolite concentrations of cats fed the chicken-based diet; suggesting that these novel protein sources might be adequate alternative protein sources in feline diets.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Animal Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Hu, Yi

Contributors dc:contributor

• Godoy, Maria
• Swanson, Kelly S
• Fahey, George C.

• alternative protein, chemical composition, fatty acid, feline, insect, nutrient digestibility

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020，Yi Hu

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109444

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109444