Blood Profile of Soybean Meal Substitution with Black Soldier Fly Larvae in New Zealand White Rabbit

Abstract

Meat consumption in Indonesia is dominated by high-cholesterol meat that can lead to several cardiovascular diseases. Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus Linnaeus, 1758), known as low cholesterol meat, can be alternatively chosen for daily consumption. Soybean meal (SBM), as the primary protein source in rabbit ration, has some disadvantages. Protein value in Black Soldier Fly Larvae -BSFL (Hermetia illucens Linnaeus, 1758) is equal to SBM and better in the amino acid profile. However, the chitin contained in BSLF may cause subclinical inflammation by blood parameter detection. Thus, this study investigated the BSLF substitution effect on rabbit blood traits. This study was performed using 28 wk old weaned male New Zealand White rabbits (1300 g ± 130 g) that were randomly divided into control group (T0) and treatment group (T1, T2, T3), which respectively substituted 0 %, 10 %, 20 %, and 30 % SBM with BSFL. Blood samples were collected from the right ear marginal vein. The result showed an increasing trend of leukocytes and neutrophils in the treatment group (P > 0.05) that implicated the inflammation occurrence. The body responded to chitin as Pathogen Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) to trigger the inflammation. BSLF can substitute SBM. However, it needs further study to eliminate the inflammation response caused by chitin in BSLF.