ИСТИНА

Aim: "Hidden hunger" is the alarming phenomenon among both humans and livestock. It is triggered by the lack of sufficient volume of micronutrients (microelements, irreplaceable aminoacids and vitamins) in food and feed respectively and may cause serious diseases and pathological conditions. Finding enough micronutrients is often problematic: they are either obtained from limited external natural sources, or synthesised within organisms. Soil-dwelling saprophages bear one of the largest shares of zoomass on Earth but remain surprisingly neglected as potential sources of micronutrients. We analyzed soil saprophages as a potential source of micronutrients with respect to their ability to concentrate vitamins, microelements and amino acids. Method: We assessed the nutritional value with respect to micronutrients in 30 model invertebrate species belonging to the major soil saprophage taxa. We used biochemical methods to assess proteinogenic amino acids, microelements and vitamins. Results: Taxonomic differences in the composition and ratio of micronutrients were determined. We identified taxa enriched with micronutrients what makes them potentially interesting for further testing as resources for producing food and feed supplements. Conclusions: We found that several taxa of soil saprophages (especially insect larvae, millipedes, and earthworms) are quite rich in micronutrients (amino acids, vitamins, and microelements), yet staying, with the few exceptions, ignored as a valuable food and feed supplement raw material. Our comparison in the micronutrient composition of the major soil saprophage taxa has demonstrated that many of them are similar with this respect to conventional meat products