Camelina and linseed cakes for yellow mealworm larvae: Effects on productive performance and nutritional composition

Dietary modulation of the fatty acid (FA) profile of Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae represents a promising strategy to enhance their nutritional value. Camelina and linseed cakes, agro-industrial by-products rich in n-3 FA, may provide a sustainable approach to improve larval lipid quality.This study compared a standard commercial diet (STD) with isoenergetic and isonitrogenous experimental diets, including a control formulation (CON) and CON-based diets supplemented with camelina (CAM 5, CAM 10) or linseed (LIN 5, LIN 10) cakes at 5% and 10%, respectively. The effects on growth performance, proximate composition, FA profile and mineral content were evaluated. Experimental diets improved growth performance and feed efficiency compared with STD. The CON group showed similar weight gain to oilseed cake-treated groups and the highest feed efficiency, whereas LIN 10 slightly reduced growth. Oilseed cake inclusion increased lipid deposition and enhanced polyunsaturated and n-3 FA levels, reducing the n-6/n-3 ratio from 20.7 (CON) to 5.95 (CAM 10) and 4.43 (LIN 10). Mineral composition was also affected, with increased Ca and reduced P, Mg, K and Mn concentrations.Camelina and linseed cakes effectively improved the lipid quality of TM larvae while maintaining satisfactory growth performance, highlighting their potential as sustainable functional ingredients in insect production systems..