Bioaccumulated provitamin A in black soldier fly larvae is bioavailable and capable of improving vitamin A status of gerbils.

The aim was to study whether provitamin A (proVA), which can bioaccumulate in black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), is bioavailable and can restore VA status in mammals. A model for studying the metabolism of this vitamin, the gerbil, was either fed a standard diet (C+ group), a diet without VA (C-), a diet in which VA was provided by β-carotene (β-C) from sweet potatoes (SP), or a diet in which VA was provided by β-C from BSFL that had been fed sweet potatoes (BSFL). The animals were killed at the end of the supplementation period and β-C, retinol and retinyl esters were measured in plasma and liver.

Using black soldier fly larvae reared on fruits and vegetables waste as a sustainable dietary source of provitamin a carotenoids.

We showed that black soldier fly larvae reared on fruits and vegetables rich in provitamin A carotenoids can accumulate significant amounts of these vitamin A precursors. Using a simulated gastro-intestinal digestion model, we demonstrated that α- and β-carotene from the larvae are as bioaccessible as from the fruits and vegetables they were reared on. We calculated that provitamin A carotenoid-rich larvae have the capacity to provide more vitamin A than fruits and vegetables rich in these molecules.