Hematological changes in dogs fed with Tenebrio molitor larvae meal

The aim of this study was to evaluate the haematological and biochemical parameters of dogs submitted to different levels of inclusion of mealworm meal (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5%) in their diet. Four adult females aged 5 years, castrated, with an average weight of 15.8 kg were used. A Latin square design was used, with 4 treatments and 4 replications. The base diets were calculated based on the NRC and provided in the proportion of 80% dry food and 20% wet food. The animals were dewormed, clinically evaluated and adapted to the base diet for 10 days prior to the insertion of me. After fitting, blood was collected for evaluation of haematological and biochemical parameters. The experimental period of each treatment was 14 days, with a new blood collection on the 15th day, with the animals in the fasted state. The blood parameters evaluated were blood count and biochemical tests, composed of urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol, total proteins and their fractions, glucose, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and immunoglobulin E. The data obtained were subjected to multiple analysis of variance at the 5% significance level. The results showed that none of the mealworm protein inclusion levels showed blood alterations. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of mealworm meal did not harm the health of the animals tested in experiment, showing that it can be an alternative protein source and can be safely included up to a level of 7.5% in dog foods.