# Enriching Eggs Naturally: The Nutritional Power of Black Soldier Fly Whole Dry Larvae

## TL;DR

Adding black soldier fly larvae to hens' diets improves egg quality by boosting carotenoids, vitamins, and beneficial fatty acids.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that BSF larvae can naturally enrich eggs with antioxidants and specific fatty acids that benefit human health.

## Key findings

- BSF-fed hens produced eggs with enhanced yolk color and higher carotenoid and vitamin levels.
- Eggs from BSF-fed hens showed increased levels of C:15 and C:17 fatty acids linked to cell health.
- BSF inclusion did not affect hen production but improved egg nutritional profiles.

## Abstract

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens; BSF) are one of the key insects subjected to commercial farming world-wide. BSF has excellent nutritional parameters, which underlines its potential for the poultry industry. Along with their nutrition profile, BSF larvae carry many biologically active molecules that may positively affect animal health and products. Importantly, tailor-made diets can produce BSF products with different chemical profiles to target specific aims in animal feeding. To elucidate one of these aspects, the study tested the effects of inclusion of alfalfa-fed BSF whole dry larvae in hen’s diet at different concentrations (3%, 6%, 9%), on egg quality and hen’s performance. Although the four-week feeding period did not influence production parameters, BSF-fed hens produced eggs with enhanced yolk color and increased levels of carotenoid and vitamin content (compared to hens fed on regular diet with no BSF), which are characterized with high antioxidant activity. Furthermore, results in this study suggest that BSF-fed hens produced eggs with different fatty acid profiles that might be beneficial for human health. Altogether, results suggest that biologically active components of BSF might be important factors in animal feeding to improve health, performance, and product quality with possible improvement of human health.

The current investigation examined the effect of inclusion of Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens; BSF) dry larvae in hens’ diet on egg quality and hen performance. A total of 260 brown egg-laying hens (RIR × RIW) were divided into four groups (65 hens/group; 5 pens/group) and fed with control and experimental diets (inclusion rates 3%, 6%, 9%). Although the four-week feeding period did not influence production parameters, yolk color responded positively to the test diets, showing a linear increase with the percentage of BSF inclusion rate (p < 0.001). This was reaffirmed by the increased levels of yolk carotenoids (astaxanthin and β-carotene) and α-tocopherol, with notable differences in 6% and 9% BSF-fed groups (p ≤ 0.003). Lipids are an important factor in carotenoid absorption and assimilation, and the combination of fat content and carotenoids in BSF suggests the potential of this system for egg enrichment. Along with the increased antioxidant levels, a novel finding is the positive correlation between BSF inclusion rates and hens’ egg yolk levels of C:15 and C:17 fatty acids, key players in the core mechanisms of cell health and longevity. Altogether, the results provide evidence of the potential of BSF for enrichment of eggs with carotenoids and vitamins with strong antioxidant activity, which would have a positive effect on human health.