Simple Summary This paper provides an overview of the key issues concerning the role of edible insects in sustainable feed production and environmentally friendly agriculture. The use of insect-derived feeds for animal production is presented in detail and discussed for the major terrestrial livestock and aquaculture groups.Abstract The growing demand for animal protein, the efficient use of land and water, and the limitations of non-renewable energy sources highlight the global importance of edible insects. This paper provides an overview of the key issues regarding the role of edible insects in sustainable feed production and environmentally friendly agriculture. The indispensable ecological services provided by insects are discussed, as well as the farming, products, and nutritional value of edible insects. A representative selection of the literature reviewing major insect species' chemical compositions and nutritional value is also presented. The use of insect-derived feeds for animal production is presented in detail and discussed for the major terrestrial livestock and aquaculture groups.

The aquafeed industry increasingly relies on using sustainable and appropriate protein sources to ensure the long-term sustainability and financial viability of intensive aquaculture. Yeast has emerged as a viable substitute protein source in the aquaculture sector due to its potential as a nutritional supplement. A substantial body of evidence exists to suggest that yeast has the potential to act as an effective immune-stimulating agent for a range of aquaculture fish species. Furthermore, the incorporation of yeast supplements and feed additives has the potential to bolster disease prevention, development, and production within the aquaculture sector. Except for methionine, lysine, arginine, and phenylalanine, which are typically the limiting essential amino acids in various fish species, the various yeast species exhibit amino acid profiles that are advantageous when compared to fishmeal. The present review considers the potential nutritional suitability of several yeast species for fish, with particular attention to the various applications of yeast in aquaculture nutrition. The findings of this study indicate that the inclusion of yeast in the diet resulted in the most favorable outcomes, with improvements observed in the overall health, growth performance, and nutritional condition of the fish. Digestibility, a key factor in sustainable feed development, is discussed in special detail. Additionally, this review addresses the utilization of yeast as an immunostimulating agent for fish and its digestion in fish. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the necessity of large-scale production of yeast as a substitute for fishmeal in aquaculture.

A fenntarthatóság az emberi tevékenység szinte minden területére vonatkozó, alapvető elvárás, ami alól az akvakultúra ágazat sem kivétel. A vízi állatok takarmányozása mind a gazdasági, mind a környezeti fenntarthatóság szempontjából kiemelkedő jelentőségű. Ez az irodalmi áttekintés a takarmányozás hatékonyságának javítását célzó, a termelés különböző intenzitási szintjein alkalmazott módszereket és ígéretes új eredményeket tárgyalja. Különös hangsúlyt fektet annak bemutatására, hogy a félintenzív tavi technológia szociális szempontból is fenntarthatónak tekinthető. A hallisztet helyettesítő alternatív fehérjeforrások terén elért legújabb eredményeket, valamint a speciális takarmány-adalékanyagok, például a probiotikumok és a fitokemikáliák előnyös tulajdonságait is igyekszik részletesen bemutatni.

Sustainability applies to almost all aspects of human activity, and the ever-growing aquaculture industry is no exception. Feeding aquatic animals is of paramount importance in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. This review discusses practices and promising new results for improving feed efficiency at different levels of production intensity. Special emphasis is placed on demonstrating how semi-intensive pond technology can be considered ab ovo sustainable also from a social point of view. Recent achievements in the field of alternative protein sources to replace fishmeal are also discussed, as well as the beneficial properties of special feed additives such as probiotics and phytochemicals.

To ensure sustainable growth, feed-fed aquaculture needs to reduce its reliance on fishmeal and oil. Introducing of novel aquaculture feeds such as macroalgae, bacteria, yeasts, and insects can greatly reduce the need for fish in aquaculture while maintaining efficiency and omega-3 fatty acid profiles. Insects, particularly, can efficiently convert organic waste into valuable products, thus reducing waste management costs and replacing fish and soybean meal. The flexibility and efficiency of insect metabolism contribute to their potential in mass food and feed production. However, for insect farming to have a global impact, it needs to be economically viable and capable of supplying insect products in industrial quantities. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of insect meal for various physiological effects in important crustacean and fish species in aquaculture. This paper aims to summarize the relevant literature on these topics and highlight the results of experiments conducted with key species.

Aquaculture plays an important role in food production for the world population and at the same time for the livelihood of the most needed globally. The concerns about sustainability and ecological health are growing in this extremely diversified sector just like in the whole agriculture industry. The use of probiotics in aquaculture already has a long history and has served from the beginning the goals of more sustainable production; however, the expansion of intensive systems along with global climate change produces new challenges. The present work aims to provide an overview of the most relevant literature. Firstly, the microbiome of aquatic animals and its functioning is surveyed followed by the aims and methods of probiotic application. The screening and testing of novel probiotics are also assessed as well as the scientific and technical novelties in probiotics research. The mainstream development in probiotic research aims to serve the sustainability of aquaculture in all respects including traditional animal health, feed efficiency, and environmental issues. New state-of-the-art techniques may lead to a future paradigm change in aquaculture under the aegis of the Blue Revolution.

This study investigated the effects of a six-week starvation period on the fatty acid profile, body composition and blood parameters of intensively reared pike (Esox lucius). 150 pike were stocked in an experimental recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and feed was completely withdrawn. Body composition, fatty acid composition and blood parameters (serum protein, albumin, triacylglycerol, cholesterol concentration and Lactate dehidrigenase and alkaline phosphatase activity) were measured and somatic indices were calculated. A significant decline in bodyweight, crude fat content and somatic indices was accompanied by a significant decrease of blood triacylglycerol content. The relative proportion of saturated fatty acids in the fillet decreased, while polyunsaturated fatty acids increased. There was also a significant increase in the average chain length and unsaturation index of fatty acids found in the fillet flesh.

All-pervasive role and significance of microbiome is becoming more and more acknowledged thanks to the intense multidisciplinary research done in the last decades. Its global function and significance is on the rise, and the future fate of the biosphere is unequivocal and beyond dispute. Uncertainties and varied usage of synonyms justifies to define once again notions like microbiome, pro- and prebiotics and clarify their relations. Knowledge about microbes important for our health is expanding rapidly. Extensive research on pre- and probiotics leads to their rapid production and broadscale application in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. Human, animal and environmental microbiome are results of co-evolution so adopting the holistic approach suggested by the One Health fighting zoonoses can be even more effective as well as global food production more environmental-friendly and sustainable.

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerlings (25 g; n=200) were introduced into a recirculation system in the Fish Laboratory of the Kaposvár University (Hungary). Fish were stocked into 60 L fish tanks (20x10 fish) in a recirculation system and feed was totally withdrawn for 12 weeks to test the selective depletion/conservation of hepatic and muscle originated fatty acids. Alterations in hepatic total fatty acid (FA) composition were: decrease of C16:1n7, C18:1n9 and increase C20:4n6, C20:5n3, C22:5n3 and C22:6n3 proportion, leading to an enormously increased unsaturation index, from 124.04 to 217.3). Changes of the fillet flesh phospholipid (PL) fraction were more expressed. The proportion of C16:1n7, C18:1n9 and C20:1n9 decreased, while C20:4n6, C22:6n3, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), total n3 and the unsaturation index increased. A moderate, but not statistically significant decrease of fillet malondyaldehide (MDA) concentration was detected. It was concluded that mostly the monoenoic fatty acids of the liver were utilized as a fuel source. Likewise, as an opposite reaction, fillet PUFAs were selectively conserved referring to the maintenance of membrane fluidity during prolonged starvation.

Ameliorating of feed efficiency always was and will remain the key element of aquaculture in which minimalizing losses during feed intake play an important role. Decreasing feed losses important not only from the economic point of view but also from an environmental standpoint. Feeding stimulants are often used additives in complete aquaculture feeds. Better knowledge of the food-sensing of cultured species is essential in the development of adequate feeding stimulants. The present paper aims to overview the nutrient-sensing of aquatic animals and the use of the wide variety of feeding attractants and stimulants.

A kísérlet célja annak a megállapítása volt, hogy két eltérő tartástechnológia (monokultúra (M), intenzív-extenzív tavi rendszer (I-E)) milyen hatással van a szürke harcsa (Silurus glanis) termelési paramétereire, valamint a tavak vízminőségére és az üledék kémiai összetételére. Kísérletünket, mely 153 napig tartott, kétnyaras szürke harcsa és ponty (Cyprinus carpio) állománnyal végeztük. A vizsgálat kezdetén a szürke harcsa átlagos testtömege 485,7±3,4 g, a ponty átlagos testtömege 348,9±2,5 g volt. A kísérlet végén az átlagos testtömegek 1932,9±194,5 g és 2266,9±87,6 g (ponty) voltak. A termelési paraméterek között szignifikáns különbséget nem találtunk. A növekedési sebesség (SGR) mind a két kezelés esetében nagyon alacsony értékeket (0,9±0,1 %/nap) mutatott. A vízminták adatainál a nitrát-N, nitrit-N, ortofoszfát-P és az összes lebegőanyag esetében szignifikáns különbséget kaptunk a kezelések között. Az üledékminták Kjeldahl-N és foszfor tartalmában jelentős csökkenést figyeltünk meg az intenzív és extenzív technológiát kombináló kezelés esetében. Mindez arra enged következtetni, hogy a kombinált rendszerben a haltermelés tápanyag transzformációja meghaladta a monokultúráét, jelentős mennyiségű szerves N és P vegyület került kivonásra és akkumulálódott a kiegészítő pontyhozamban.

Study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Mucuna pruriens seeds and Asparagus racemosus roots for induction of masculinisation in tilapia. Plant materials were extracted with water, ethanol, methanol and successive methanol and mixed sex juveniles of Nile tilapia were subjected to dietary treatment with the extracts at the concentration of 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 g/kg feed. All treatments produced significantly higher (P<0.05) percentage of males than control. The highest percentage of males (93.79 +/- 0.95) was obtained by treatment with methanol extract of M. pruriens seeds at the concentration of 0.2 g/kg feed. For A. racemosus roots also, the highest percentage of males (92.24 +/- 0.13) was obtained with methanol extract at the concentration of 0.2 g/kg feed. Extracts with different solvents of both the plants showed presence of steroid/terpenoid, saponin and flavonoid. The highest percentage of phenol (658 mg of GAE/g dw) and flavonoid (11.72 mg of RE/g dw) content for M. pruriens was found in aqueous extract whereas for A. racemosus in successive (629 mg of GAE/g dw) and ethanolic extracts (22.08 mg of RE/g dw) respectively. The antiradical activity is highest in methanolic extract of Mucuna (18.265%) and ethanolic extract of Asparagus (98.522%).

Since costs related to feeding comprise determining part of production costs in aquaculture, as in any other branch of animal production, innumerable studies aimed to give information about the feed utilization were done also for fish. The great majority of literature discusses only the simplest indicators as feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and productive protein value (PPV). One of the key research areas however that made possible the impressive growth of aquaculture in the last decades certainly was the extensive development of feeds based on sophisticated knowledge of nutrient requirements of more and more fish species. The main goal of this literature review was to focus on digestibility of nutrients, its measurement methods and to survey the main directions of contemporary research activity in this field. In conclusion, determination of apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) became an everyday practice of experimental methodology in fish nutrition studies, although there are no standardized methods, neither in marker use nor in feces collection, just to mention two from the most crucial questions. Testing and evaluating new alternative protein and energy sources to minimalize the use of fishmeal (FM) and fish oil (FO) needed to develop the requirement at ration level (RRL) method to determine adequate daily ration and also the diet replacement method (DRM) and ingredient replacement method (IRM) for ingredient inclusion in studies on digestibility. Metabolomics and nutrigenomics offer new ways of approximation in areas of primary importance in the future development of aquaculture.

In the present study mixed sex juveniles of Nile tilapia were subjected to dietary treatment with powdered Basella alba leaves and Tribulus terrestris seeds (0.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 g/kg feed) and immersion treatment with aqueous extracts of both plant materials (0.05, 0.1, 0.15 g/l). There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in survival percentage among different treatment categories for both dietary and immersion experiments. Dietary treatment with both plant materials produced significantly higher percentage (P0.05) in male percentage between treatments with B. alba and T. terrestris during feeding and immersion experiments. For dietary treatment, the highest percentage of males (76.6±0.5) was observed with T. terrestris at the concentration of 15.0 g/kg, while treatment with T. terrestris aqueous extract at a concentration of 0.15 g/l showed the highest percentage of males (81.4±0.5) during immersion experiment.

The effects of the isoflavone genistein and methanol extract of Basella alba leaves were evaluated in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus on growth and immunostimulation. Adult tilapia (mean weight 39.55 g) was fed diets containing genistein (1 gm/kg) and methanol extract of B. alba (1 g/kg) for 35 days. Basella alba extract treated tilapia showed significantly higher (P<0.05) weight gain, respiratory burst, phagocytic activity, plasma protein content and plasma lysozyme activity compared to fish fed control diet. The B. alba extract treated fish showed the highest final individual mean body weight, final individual length, specific growth rate, hepatosomatic index and total immunoglobulin content. The phagocytic and respiratory burst activities of genistein treated fish were significantly higher (P<0.05) compared to the control group. The weight gain, lysozyme activity and total protein content of genistein treated fish did not differ significantly (P>0.05) from both control and B. alba treated fish. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the food conversion ratio as well among the different treatment groups. The study indicates that B. alba methanol extract might positively influence the growth and protect the health status of tilapia.

Effects of methyltestosterone, tamoxifen, genistein and Basella alba extract on masculinization of guppy (Poecilia reticulata) Suman Bhusan Chakraborty, Tamás Molnár, Csaba Hancz

Electrocardiography-gated dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methodology was developed for the in vivo examination of sheep heart characteristics. By combining noninvasive determination of skeletal muscle mass, we studied the relationship between total body skeletal muscle content and heart performance. Measurements were carried out on male Merino lambs using 1.5 T field strength equipment. Average left ventricular volumes were determined and stroke volume was estimated during image postprocessing. Ejection fraction was calculated (73 ± 1.8%) and the cardiac output (CO) value was estimated (2.75 ± 0.16 L/min). After measuring left ventricular wall thickness, contraction values were determined at the septum (62%), anterior (69%), lateral (54%), and posterior (58%) walls. Ventricular mass was also calculated. Body composition measurement was performed immediately after MRI examination by computerized tomography (CT) during the same narcosis. Relative CO value was developed from the interpretation of the functional MRI and volumetric CT results, expressing the relationship between heart performance and total body skeletal muscle volume. Finally, CO value relating to body surface was estimated (18.3 ± 3.1 dm2/(L min-1)) to characterize the metabolic rate.

The aim of this study was to investigate stress in common carp Cyprinus carpio L. caused by harvesting, transport, and the stunning method, and the effect of the latter on flesh quality Serum cortisol concentration increased during harvesting and transport. The percussive stunning (blow on head) method caused the least stress and resulted in a significant increase in blood cortisol concentration (P<0.01). This method had no significant effect on conventional flesh quality. CO2 asphyxiation which was more stressful delayed stiffening in rigor mortis development. The greatest stress was caused by live chilling. There was a decline of pH levels in the CO2 asphyxiated and live chilled groups compared to the percussive stunned group. According to our results percussive stunning led to the best fillet quality and is the least objectionable method according to animal welfare standards.