N. A. Mohd Zuki1, N. A. Ibrahim2, K. Mat1,4, N. D. Rusli1,4, C. H.  Hasnita1,4, M. Mahmud1, N. Samat3 and S. M. Al-Amsyar1,4*

1 Faculty of Agro-based Industry, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan.

2 Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan.

3 Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, 43400 Serdang, Selangor.

4 Institute of Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan.

* Corresponding author e-mail: amsyar@umk.edu.my  

ABSTRACT

Hermetia illucens, Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL), has high protein and fat contents,  raising its potential to be used in poultry feed formulation. Protein content and amino acid profiles in BSFL are comparable to those in many imported protein-rich feeds, including fish meal and soybean. However, protein hydrolysis is still necessary to maximize protein absorption in animals' bodies to improve protein digestibility. In this study, treatment on BSFL was performed under different conditions: Control 1 (dissolved in distilled water (C1)); Control 2 (dissolved in Tris-HCl (C2)); 10% NaCl (T1); 10% KCl (T2); 10% thermostable 50a protease (T3); 20% thermostable 50a protease (T4); 10% NaCl and 10% thermostable 50a protease (T5); 10% NaCl and 20% thermostable 50a protease (T6); 10% KCl and 10% thermostable 50a protease (T7); and, 10% KCl and 20% thermostable 50a protease (T8). The highest protein concentration was obtained from Treatment 1; 534.50 µg/mL, with the lowest percentage of protein concentration decreased (3.29%). Meanwhile, the highest percentage of protein concentration decreased was achieved in Treatment 6; 49.20%, with the lowest protein concentration decreased (280.78 µg/mL). This finding  signifies that pre-treated BSFL is a promising poultry feed to be commercialised as a sustainable and efficient protein source.

Keywords: BSFL, salt, protease, protein hydrolysis, digestibility.