The global escalation of organic waste generation, coupled with rising protein demand and environmental pressure, necessitates innovative, circular approaches to resource management. Hermetia illucens (Black Soldier Fly, BSF) has emerged as a leading candidate for integrated waste-to-resource systems. This review examines BSF biological and genomic adaptations underpinning waste conversion efficiency, comparative performance of BSF bioconversion versus traditional treatments, nutritional and functional attributes, techno-economic, regulatory, and safety barriers to industrial scale-up. Peer-reviewed studies were screened for methodological rigor, and data on life cycle traits, conversion metrics, and product compositions were synthesized. BSF larvae achieve high waste reductions, feed-conversion efficiencies and redirect substrate carbon into biomass, yielding net CO₂ emissions as low as 12–17 kg CO₂ eq ton⁻¹, an order of magnitude below composting or vermicomposting. Larval biomass offers protein, lipids (notably lauric acid), micronutrients, chitin, and antimicrobial peptides, with frass serving as a nutrient-rich fertilizer. Pathogen and antibiotic resistance gene loads decrease during bioconversion. Key constraints include substrate heterogeneity, heavy metal accumulation, fragmented regulatory landscapes, and high energy and capital demands. BSF systems demonstrate superior environmental and nutritional performance compared to conventional waste treatments. Harmonized safety standards, feedstock pretreatment, automation, and green extraction methods are critical to overcoming scale-up barriers. Interdisciplinary innovation and policy alignment will enable BSF platforms to realize their full potential within circular bio-economies.

This study is aimed at evaluating the apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of six novel protein sources in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), including black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFLM), Chlorella vulgaris meal (CM), cottonseed protein concentrate (CPC), Tenebrio molitor meal (TM), Clostridium autoethanogenum protein (CAP), and methanotroph (Methylococcus capsulatus, Bath) bacteria meal (BPM). The control diet (CD) was formulated to contain 448.8 g/kg crude protein and 71.8 g/kg crude lipid. Then, six experimental diets were formulated to contain 70% CD and 30% test ingredients. The yttrium oxide was used as an exogenous indicator for apparent digestibility detection. Six hundred and thirty healthy and uniform-sized shrimp (approximately ) were randomly distributed into triplicate groups of 30 shrimp and they were fed three times daily. After the shrimp was acclimating for one week, their feces were collected 2 hours after the morning feeding until sufficient samples were available for compositional analysis to calculate apparent digestibility. The apparent digestibility coefficients for a dry matter of diets (ADC_D) and ingredients (ADC_I) as well as the apparent digestibility coefficients for crude protein (ADC_Pro), crude lipid (ADC_L), and phosphorus (ADC_P) of test ingredients were calculated. Results showed that the growth performance of shrimp fed BSFLM, TM, and BPM diets significantly decreased compared to that fed the CD ( ), and no significant differences were found among those fed CD, CM, CAP, and CPC diets ( ). There were no significant differences in survival among each group ( ). As for the diets, results showed that the ADC_D of BSFLM, CM, CPC, and TM diets was significantly lower than that of CD, while that of the CAP diet was significantly higher than that of CD ( ) and there were no significant differences between BPM and CD diets ( ). As for the test ingredients, the ADC_Pro and ADC_L of BSFLM, CM, CPC, and TM were significantly lower than those of CD in Litopenaeus vannamei ( ). The ADC_Pro of CAP was significantly higher than that of CD ( ), but no significant differences were found in ADC_L between CAP and CD ( ). The ADC_Pro of BPM was significantly lower than that of CD ( ), but there were no significant differences in ADC_L between BPM and CD ( ). The ADC_P of CM, CAP, and BPM were significantly higher than that of CD, while that of BSFLM was significantly lower than that of CD ( ), and no significant differences were found in ADC_P between TM and CD ( ). To conclude, newly developed protein sources such as single-cell protein (CAP, BPM, and CM) showed great potential as a fishmeal alternative, and insect protein meals (TM and BSFLM) were less effective for shrimp compared to the CD. Although the utilization of CPC by shrimp was lower than other protein sources, it had been much improved compared to the untreated cottonseed meal. The present study will contribute to the application of novel protein sources in shrimp feeds.

The study aimed to assess the impact of adding chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) to the diet of Litopenaeus vannamei on their growth performance, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, and hepatopancreas health while being fed a low fishmeal diet. Five diets were formulated, one of which contained 25% fishmeal (PC); fishmeal was partially replaced with Clostridium autoethanogenum protein in the remaining four diets and supplemented with 0, 0.03, 0.06, and 0.09% CDCA (NC, BA1, BA2, and BA3, respectively). In this study, four replicates of each diet were assigned and each replicate consisted of 30 shrimp with an average weight of (0.25 ± 0.03 g). The shrimp were fed four times a day for a period of 56 days. The results of this study indicate that the inclusion of CDCA in the diet had a positive impact on the growth performance of the shrimp. The final body weight (FBW), weight gain (WG), and specific growth rate (SGR) of the shrimp in the PC group were similar to those in the BA2 group, and significantly higher than those in the other three groups. The survival rate (SR) was similar among all groups. In comparison to the PC group, the low fishmeal groups exhibited a significant decrease in the crude lipid content of the whole shrimp, as well as the Total cholesterol (T-CHOL), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), and High-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) levels in the hemolymph. Regarding the sterol metabolism, the dietary supplementation of CDCA up-regulated the mRNA expression of intracellular cholesterol transporter 1-like (npc1), 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase (7dhcr), Delta (24) sterol reductase (Δ24), HMG-CoA reductase membrane form (hmgcr), and sterol carrier protein 2 (scp). In the lipid metabolism, the mRNA expression of sterol-regulatory element binding protein (srebp) was significantly down-regulated in the shrimp fed the BA1 diet and the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (ampk) was significantly up-regulated in the shrimp fed the BA1 and BA3 diets compared to the PC group. The mRNA expression of triacylglycerol lipase (tgl) was significantly up-regulated in the shrimp fed the BA2 diet compared to the NC group. Compared with the shrimp fed the PC diets, the dietary supplementation of CDCA significantly down-regulated the protein expression of SREBP1. The lumen damage in the BA1 group was significantly less severe than those in the NC group. The addition of 0.06% CDCA to low fishmeal diets can improve the growth performance, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, and hepatopancreas health of L. vannamei.

Safe antibiotic substitutes are needed given the rise in antimicrobial resistance, environmental contamination, and stringent antibiotic regulations. Insect-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising candidates due to their antimicrobial activity, stability, and safety. This study investigates the antimicrobial mechanism of crude AMP extracts and their physicochemical characteristics in black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). The results indicated that BSFL reared on a wheat bran diet exhibited significantly improved growth performance and AMP production when compared to the other three diets. AMP extracts showed enhanced antimicrobial activity and physicochemical stability, including temperatures and metal ions except Cu⁺. Moreover, AMP extracts disrupted the cell membrane and inhibited the cell cycle of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), thus exhibiting antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, transcriptomic and KEGG enrichment analyses identified 509 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to the Toll and IMD signaling pathways. STRING and GeneMANIA analyses confirmed the association of these pathways with immune response and AMP secretion. qRT-PCR results showed elevated expression of immune genes (GNBP3, NFKBIA, GADD45, and Spz) in BSFL following S. aureus immunization, consistent with RNA-seq findings. These findings offer a valuable reference for using AMPs as antibiotic substitutes in animal feeds and highlight the need for further research on AMP purification and the synergistic regulation of protein synthesis and AMP production in BSFL.

This study evaluated the effects of lipid sources on the replacement of fishmeal with Clostridium autoethanogenum protein (CAP) in the diet of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). By using CAP to replace 40% fishmeal in the basal diet (contains 25% fishmeal), four diets (PC as the control diet, LSO as the low soybean oil level, MSO as the middle soybean oil level, and HSO as the high soybean oil level) were formulated by adding different proportions of fish oil and soybean oil. Each diet was assigned to four replicates (40 shrimps per replicate, initial weight = 1.79 ± 0.02 g). A 7-day Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge test was conducted at the end of the 50-day feeding experiment. Weight gain was significantly higher and the cumulative mortality after challenge was lower in HSO treatment. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in hepatopancreas was significantly raised with increasing dietary soybean oil based on CAP substitution. After challenge, Pen3 mRNA expression was significantly higher in hepatopancreas and NF-κB pathway-related mRNA (dorsal, relish, and IKKβ) expression was higher in the intestine in HSO treatment. The height of mucosal folds and the thickness of the muscle layer were positively correlated with the level of dietary soybean oil. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the microvilli were damaged and the endoplasmic reticulum was swollen in shrimp fed the LSO diet. Diversity of intestinal microbiota was increased in shrimp fed the LSO diet, with a significant increase in beneficial bacteria such as Halocynthiibacter and Ruegeria as well as less harmful bacteria such as Vibrio. These results suggested that the replacement of fishmeal with CAP and the high proportion of soybean oil in the diet could improve the growth performance, disease resistance, and intestinal structure of Pacific white shrimp, and high fish oil in a low-FM diet raised the percentage of beneficial bacteria in the intestine of shrimp.