Efficient agri-food waste valorization using mealworm (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) into nutrient-rich biomass for food and feed.

The utilization of yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor (Linnaeus, Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), for food and feed is gaining interest globally. However, its production is hindered by expensive commercial diets. This study assessed mealworm growth performance, survival, bioconversion, and nutritional composition when fed on wheat bran (WB) with different inclusion levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of Irish potato waste (PW). Results indicated that mealworms fed on diets with 25%-75% PW had increased body length and 1-2 times higher weight gain compared to sole WB and PW diets. The survival rate was 93%-94% across all diets. Mealworms fed on WB had a feed conversion ratio of 3.26, while the efficiency of diet conversion increased with PW inclusion levels. Mealworms fed on diets with 75% PW inclusion had the highest crude fat (48%) and energy levels (598 kcal/100 g), while sole WB produced mealworms with the highest crude protein (55%). The acid detergent fiber achieved using 100% WB was 2- to 3-fold higher, but the crude fiber and neutral detergent fiber did not vary significantly. Considerable amounts of lysine (1.6-2 mg/100 g), methionine (0.5-0.7 mg/100 g), leucine (1.4-2 mg/100 g), and threonine (0.8-1 mg/100 g) were achieved in the mealworm larvae. Our findings revealed that cheap agricultural by-products could be successfully used for the mass production of mealworms, substantially contributing to reduced production costs. Further exploration of the nutrient-dense mealworm larvae for the development of novel food and feed products is crucial.

Keeping It Real: Antibiotic Use Problems and Stewardship Solutions in Low- and Middle-income Countries.

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat and there is an urgent need to manage antibiotic use to slow its development. However, antimicrobial stewardship interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) have been limited in terms of their resourcing, feasibility and effectiveness in the face of greater challenges in child mortality. We sought to gather together examples of antibiotic use problems faced by clinicians in LMIC, many of which are unique to these settings, and real-world antimicrobial stewardship solutions identified, with the goal of learning broader lessons that might be applicable across LMIC.