Davis G R
J Nutr. 1975 Aug;105(8):1071-5. doi: 10.1093/jn/105.8.1071.
Larvae of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L., have been used to evaluate nutritional quality of proteins and protein isolates. However, such investigations have been complicated by lack of knowledge of dietary requirements of the larvae. To determine essential dietary amino acids for growth of Tenebrio molitor, single amino acids were deleted from the amino acid mixture of the diet. Diets were maintained isonitrogenous with supplementary glycine and, in the case of deleted glycine, with glutamic acid. Growth, as measured by gain in weight, and survival were observed over a 4-week period at 27 plus or minus 0.25 degrees and 65 plus or minus 5% relative humidity. The results indicate that larvae of Tenebrio molitor require a dietary source of the same 10 amino acids essential for growth in rats, other vertebrates, and some protozoa. They also showed that serine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, and possibly glycine were dispensable for growth in this insect. Alanine, cystine, proline, and aspartic acid appeared semidispensable. Survival over the 4-week experimental period was unaffected by deleting amino acids from the diet. The results are discussed in relation to amino acid requirements of other insects and to suggested improvement of the diet of the present investigation.
黄粉虫（Tenebrio molitor L.）幼虫已被用于评估蛋白质及蛋白质分离物的营养质量。然而，由于对幼虫饮食需求缺乏了解，此类研究变得复杂。为确定黄粉虫生长所需的必需膳食氨基酸，从饲料的氨基酸混合物中逐一去除单个氨基酸。饲料保持等氮，并补充甘氨酸，若去除甘氨酸，则补充谷氨酸。在27±0.25摄氏度、相对湿度65±5%的条件下，观察4周内以体重增加衡量的生长情况及存活率。结果表明，黄粉虫幼虫生长所需的必需氨基酸与大鼠、其他脊椎动物及一些原生动物相同，均为10种。结果还表明，丝氨酸、酪氨酸、谷氨酸以及可能的甘氨酸对该昆虫的生长并非必需。丙氨酸、胱氨酸、脯氨酸和天冬氨酸似乎为半必需氨基酸。在4周实验期内，从饲料中去除氨基酸对存活率没有影响。本文结合其他昆虫的氨基酸需求以及本研究饲料的改进建议对结果进行了讨论。
