Vol. 6, Issue 6 (2018)
Nutritional analysis of earthworm meal (Eudrilus eugeniae)
Author(s): B Deepika, V Leela and S Ezhil valavan
Abstract: An experiment was conducted to analyze the chemical and nutritive value of the earthworm meal (Eudrilus eugeniae) and the complete analysis revealed the moisture, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, total ash and gross energy contents of earthworm meal were 5.3, 29.49, 1.25, 3.75, 45.66 per cent and 2649 kcal/kg, respectively. The calcium and phosphorus content of earthworm meal were 2.89 and 1.37 per cent. Amino acid profile of earthworm meal revealed that the glycine registered the highest (12.7 nmoles/ml) among non- essential amino acids and the threonine accounted for the highest (15.2 nmoles/ml) among essential amino acids. Lysine and methionine content were 12.3 and 6.3 nmoles/ml, respectively. Arginine and leucine levels are found to be at 8.0 and 9.3 nmoles/ml, respectively. The threonine recorded the highest percentage, while aspartic acid registered the lowest (0.5 nmoles/ml) among amino acids in earthworm meal. Thus, it could be concluded that earthworm meal is a rich source of protein, energy and amino acids, which could be used as an alternative to fish meal. Further, experiments needed to find the inclusion level and digestibility in poultry/other monogastric animals.
Pages: 1536-1539 | 509 Views 217 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
B Deepika, V Leela, S Ezhil valavan. Nutritional analysis of earthworm meal (Eudrilus eugeniae). Int J Chem Stud 2018;6(6):1536-1539.
