In-situ yeast fermentation medium in fortifying protein and lipid accumulations in the harvested larval biomass of black soldier fly

Recently, worldwide researchers have been focusing on exploiting of black soldier fly larval (BSFL) biomass to serve as the feed mediums for farmed animals, including aquaculture farming, in order to assuage the rising demands for protein sources. In this study, yeast was introduced into coconut endosperm waste (CEW) whilst serving as the feeding medium to rear BSFL in simultaneously performed in situ fermentation. It was found that at a 2.5 wt% yeast concentration, the total biomass gained, growth rate and rearing time were improved to 1.145 g, 0.085 g/day and 13.5 days, respectively. In terms of solid waste reduction, the inoculation of yeast over 0.5 wt% in CEW was able to achieve more than 50% overall degradation, with the waste reduction indexes (WRIs) ranging from 0.038 to 0.040 g/day. Disregarding the concentration of yeast introduced, the protein productivity from 20 BSFL was enhanced from only 0.018 g/day (the control) to 0.025 g/day with the presence of yeast at arbitrary concentrations. On the other hand, the larval protein yield was fortified from the control (28%) to a highest value of 35% with the presence of a mere 0.02 wt% yeast concentration. To summarize, the inclusion of a minimal amount of yeast into CEW for in situ fermentation ultimately enhanced the growth of BSFL, as well as its protein yield and productivity.