Abstract The pet food industry is continually expanding, and interest in alternative feeding substrates, such as insect meal and novel bioproducts derived from the bioconversion of agro-industrial byproducts by basidiomycete fungi, has increased. Purpose This study investigated meals derived from Lentinula edodes fungi and Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFM) and assessed their in vitro digestibility and nutritional potential compared with conventional meat and bone meal (MBM) for dog food. Methods The fungal biomeal was obtained via solid-state fermentation of peach palm shells supplemented with soybean meal by L. edodes, while defatted BSFM (BSFMd) was obtained commercially, and MBM was donated by a Brazilian pet food company. Physicochemical characterization was performed by determining protein, ash, total dietary fiber, lipid, carbohydrate, energy, pH, water activity, and moisture contents, and in vitro digestibility was evaluated using a two-phase enzymatic model with pepsin and pancreatin. Results Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility assays were performed on biomeal, BSFMd, and MBM. BSFMd exhibited the highest crude protein content (49.82%), while biomeal was particularly rich in dietary fibers (30.16%). Both meals showed low lipid values (BSFMd 0.69% and biomeal 0.67%). In the intestinal phase, in vitro dry matter digestibility was highest (54.76%) for BSFMd, whereas protein digestibility values were 70.84%, 64.38%, and 66.95% for BSFMd, biomeal, and MBM, respectively. Biomeal showed superior gastric-phase protein digestibility (60.35%), suggesting enhanced early protein hydrolysis. Conclusion These findings highlight that both biomeal and BSFMd have potential as alternative ingredients for dog food, combining nutritional value with sustainability through the bioconversion of agro-industrial byproducts and insect-based protein sources. Graphical Abstract
Costa et al. (Sat,) studied this question.