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As aquaculture production grows, so does the demand for quality and cost-effective protein sources. The cost of fishmeal (FM) has increased over the years, leading to increased production costs for formulated aquafeed. Soybean meal (SBM) is commonly used as an FM replacer in aquafeed, but anti-nutritional factors could affect the growth, nutrition, and health of aquatic organisms. Cricket meal (CM) is an alternative source with a nutrient profile comparable to FM due to its high protein content, digestibility, and amino acid profile. CM use in aquafeed influences growth and reproductive performance while modulating the gut microbiota and immune response of fish and shrimp. However, consistent regulation and scaling up are necessary for competitive prices and the marketing of CM. Moreover, the chitin content in CM could be an issue in some fish species; however, different strategies based on food biotechnology can improve the protein quality for its safe use in aquafeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the increase of varieties and the expansion of scale in aquaculture, as well as the rapid development of the intensive and industrial aquaculture industry, the demand for fish meal has increased significantly. On the other hand, due to global warming and environmental pollution, marine resources have reduced and the production of high-quality fish meal is gradually decreasing. The soaring prices of fish meal increase the feed cost in the process of aquaculture, severely decrease the economic benefits of aquaculture farmers, greatly limit the use of fish meal in aquatic feed, and hinder the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. Therefore, it has become an important research subject in the aquatic feed industry to find new fish meal substitutes and reasonably reduce the amount of fish meal in feed. Crickets have high nutrient concentrations (55%–73% crude protein, high unsaturated fatty acid levels, and sufficient essential amino acid (EAA) profiles). For cricket meal, as one of the new high-quality insect protein sources, the crude protein concentration is comparable to that of fish meal. Recent studies have shown that cricket meal can replace part of fish meal, and have achieved good results in Clarias gariepinus, Micropterus salmoides, and other aquatic animals. However, the application of cricket meal as a substitute for fish meal in the diets of yellow catfish has not been reported. In the present study, we investigated the effects on the growth performance, muscle composition, and serum biochemical indexes of yellow catfish by replacing different proportions of fish meal in the diets with cricket meal. The aim was to explore the feasibility of replacing fish meal in the diets of yellow catfish, and to provide a scientific reference for the future development and application of insect protein sources in aquatic feed. The cricket meal used in this study was a brown powder containing dry matter crude protein content of 63.40%, crude fat content of 15.50%, and crude ash content of 7.36%. Healthy juvenile yellow catfish with an average body weight of (2.0±0.13) g were randomly divided into five groups with three replicates and 30 fish per replicate. Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic experimental diets were formulated by replacing 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% of fish meal protein with cricket meal, named T0, T15, T30, T45, and T60 groups, respectively. The experimental fish were reared in an indoor recirculating aquaculture system for 10 weeks. By measuring growth performance, muscle amino acid content, and serum biochemical parameters, the appropriate replacement level of cricket meal in yellow catfish diets was investigated.The results showed that with increasing cricket meal content, the final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), and specific growth rate (SGR) of juvenile yellow catfish increased first and then decreased. The growth performance of FBW, WGR, and SGR in the T30 group was the highest and significantly higher than that of FBW, WGR, and SGR in the T0 group (P < 0.05), whereas the feed conversion rate (FCR) was significantly lower than that of T0 and T15 groups (P0.05). The EAA contents of the muscle arginine and valine in the T60 group were significantly higher than those in the T0 group (P0.05). Compared with the T0 group, the content of glucose (GLU) in the serum of the T30, T45, and T60 groups significantly increased (P

This study aimed to investigate the potential of using field two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus as the main protein source in fish feed for striped snakehead (Channa striata) juveniles. A 10-week feeding effect on growth performance, feed utilization, digestibility of major nutrients, including amino acids, and physiological outputs of nitrogen and phosphorus were determined. A total of 225 C. striata juvenile fish (Initial weight, 15.0 ± 0.1 g) were randomly distributed into three dietary groups in triplicate (25 fish per rectangular aquarium within a semi-recirculating system). Each group was hand-fed one of the experimental diets containing the graded level of a cricket meal (CM) replacing 0%, 50%, and 100% (CM0%, CM50%, and CM100%, respectively) of fish meal (FM) protein component. The results showed that growth performance and protein retention tended to increase with increasing dietary CM levels, whereas the waste outputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) decreased. Apparent net protein utilization (ANPU) and P retention values increased with increasing levels of cricket meal inclusion level in the diet. There was a significant reduction in both N and P solid waste and dissolved waste output for snakehead with increased CM inclusion. There were significant effects of CM level on fish whole-body composition in terms of elevated protein and fat content. In conclusion, the CM is a viable alternative protein source for aquaculture feeds and can be included up to 100% as a replacement for FM without compromising the growth performance of striped snakehead Channa striata juveniles. This may also have a more favorable impact, with the potential to reduce N and P loading to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary replacement of fish meal with cricket meal on growth performance, proximate composition, digestive enzyme activities, serum biochemical indices and antioxidant capacity in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were formulated with dietary 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% fishmeal (FM) replaced by cricket meal (namely, T0, T15, T30, T45 and T60, respectively). Largemouth bass (LMB) was reared in an indoor for 8 weeks. The results showed that the final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and viscerosomatic index in fish fed T15, T30 and T45 had no significant differences compared to fish fed T0 (p > 0.05). The FBW, WGR and SGR in fish fed T60 were significantly lower than that in fish fed T0 (p < 0.05). There are no significantly different in the hepatosomatic index, condition factor and survival rate among all the groups. The content of crude protein in whole fish was significantly lower in fish fed T60 compared to fish fed T0 (p < 0.05). The content of crude lipid was observed to be significantly higher in fish fed T60 compared to fish fed T0 (p < 0.05). The trypsin activity was significantly lower in fish fed T60 (p < 0.05). Muscle content of methionine significantly declined as dietary cricket meal concentrations increased. The activity of triglyceride and total cholesterol in fish fed T60 was significantly higher than that in fish fed T0 (p < 0.05). The activity of catalase was significantly higher in fish fed T30, T45 and T60 (p < 0.05). It was concluded that up to 45% of cricket meal can replace FM in diets for the growth of LMB and further studies on methionine adequacy should be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect meal is a promising alternative to unsustainable fishmeal. However, limited studies have been focused on identifying the fishmeal replacement potential related to ornamental fish compared with food fish. Therefore, an experiment was conducted using house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) meals to test the growth and pigmentation performances of Guppy (Poecilia reticulata). The protein content of the fish meal in the control diet was replaced by 50%, 75%, and 100% by both cricket meals. One-day-old fry of all the treatments were initially fed by Artemia nauplii for five days; then, the research diets were fed from day six to day thirty thrice a day ad libitum by the respective research diets. The growth performance of all the treatments was significantly similar (p > 0.05) to each other and the control. Therefore, the results confirmed that both insect meals could replace fishmeal by 100% without any adverse effects on the growth of the nursery phase of P. reticulata. Furthermore, sorted and further reared fry were tested for breeding performance, and the results showed that both insect meals did not affect negatively (P > 0.05) the delivered fry number and its weight and length. The total carotenoid concentration and MATLAB analysis of the photographed caudal fins of A. domesticus meal-fed fish showed that all the inclusion levels of the insect meal did not affect (P > 0.05) pigmentation with the control. However, the diet that the field cricket meal included diet-fed fish replaced 100% fishmeal showed statistically higher (P

In our present study, we observed the effect of cricket meal (CM) on disease resistance of African catfish. Fish were fed diets containing 350 g kg–1 and 400 g kg–1 of CM and 350 g kg–1 of fishmeal as control. The fish were divided into triplicates treatments of ten fish per replicate, weighed 22.5±0.6 g and fed with experimental diets for 40 days before being challenged against Aeromonas hydrophila. Relative percentage of survival (RPS) was recorded over 12 days post-challenge. White blood cell count, total protein, globulin and lysozyme showed significantly increasing levels in those fed with cricket meal diet compared to the control group. Mortalities at 12-day post-challenge significantly decreased to 30% (RPS: 66.7%) and 27% (RPS: 70%) for 35% and 40% CM respectively compared to 90% mortality in control group. Intestines and liver tissues of infected fish were dissected for pathogenic confirmation. The intestines of control diet showed the highest bacterial load (58.2×107 cfu g–1) compared to CM diets. The current study indicates that dietary CM could enhance the innate immune system and disease resistance of African catfish.

The aim of this work was to conduct the effects of cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) meal (CM) as a protein supplement on in vitro gas production, rumen fermentation, and methane (CH4) mitigation. Dietary treatments were randomly assigned using a completely randomized design (CRD) with a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement. The first factor was two ratios of roughage to concentrate (R:C at 60:40 and 40:60), and the second factor was the level of CM to replace soybean meal (SBM) in a concentrate ratio at 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100, respectively. It was found that in vitro DM degradability and the concentration of propionic (C3) were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while the potential extent of gas production (a + b), acetate (C2), acetate and propionate (C2:C3) ratio, and protozoal population were reduced (p < 0.05) by lowering the R:C ratio and the replacement of SBM by CM. In addition, rumen CH4 production was mitigated (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of CM for SBM. In this study, CM has the potential to improve rumen fermentation by enhancing C3 concentration and DM degradability, reduced methane production, and C2:C3 ratio. The effects were more pronounced (p < 0.05) at low levels of roughage.

This study was conducted in two experiments with the objectives: (1) to evaluate nutrient intake, physiological status, and performance of pre-weaning goat kids fed with milk replacer containing cricket meal, and (2) to evaluate nutrient intake, rumen fermentation characteristics, blood profiles, and production performance of post-weaning etawah crossbred goats fed with cricket meal as a substitution of soybean meal. Twelve pre-weaning goat kids (3.78±0.50 kg BW) were divided into 3 treatments (4 replicates per treatment), i.e., kids fed with goat milk (GM), cow milk (CM), and milk replacer containing cricket meal (MR). In the second experiment, 12 post-weaning goats (12-14 kg BW) were fed with 3 dietary treatments, i.e., control ration (CM-0), ration containing 15% cricket meal (CM-15), and ration containing 30% cricket meal (CM-30). Parameters measured during 2 months observations were nutrient intake, physiological status, fermentation profiles, blood profiles, and performance. Both experiments used a completely randomized design. Results showed that there were no significant differences in physiological status parameters in pre-weaning goat kids fed with GM, CM or MR. The performance of kids fed with GM was significantly higher (120 g/d) than those fed with CM and MR treatments (p

Feed cost contributes 80% of the total cost of production in quails. The utilization of cricket meal as a protein source can be a solution to reduce feed costs. The cricket has a high nutritive value, especially protein content, and is one of potential insects to be used as a source of alternative protein to replace fish meal in animal diet. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cricket meal on the production and physical quality of japanese quail egg (Coturnix coturnix japonica). The experiment used 200 five-week-old female quails with an average body weight of 125.4 g. The completely randomized design (CRD) was employed for the experiments with 5 treatments and 4 replications (10 birds per replication). The dietary treatments were T0: diet without cricket meal, T1: diet containing 2% cricket meal to replace 25% of fish meal, T2: diet containing 4% cricket meal to replace 50% of fish meal, T3: diet containing 6% cricket meal to replace 75% of fish meal, and T4: diet containing 8% cricket meal to replace 100% of fish meal. Results revealed that utilization of cricket meal in the quail ration significantly increased egg production (P

This study was conducted in two experiments with the objectives: (1) to evaluate nutrient intake, physiological status, and performance of pre-weaning goat kids fed with milk replacer containing cricket meal, and (2) to evaluate nutrient intake, rumen fermentation characteristics, blood profiles, and production performance of post-weaning etawah crossbred goats fed with cricket meal as a substitution of soybean meal. Twelve pre-weaning goat kids (3.78±0.50 kg BW) were divided into 3 treatments (4 replicates per treatment), i.e., kids fed with goat milk (GM), cow milk (CM), and milk replacer containing cricket meal (MR). In the second experiment, 12 post-weaning goats (12-14 kg BW) were fed with 3 dietary treatments, i.e., control ration (CM-0), ration containing 15% cricket meal (CM-15), and ration containing 30% cricket meal (CM-30). Parameters measured during 2 months observations were nutrient intake, physiological status, fermentation profiles, blood profiles, and performance. Both experiments used a completely randomized design. Results showed that there were no significant differences in physiological status parameters in pre-weaning goat kids fed with GM, CM or MR. The performance of kids fed with GM was significantly higher (120 g/d) than those fed with CM and MR treatments (p<0.05). In the second experiment, results showed that fat intake in CM-30 was higher than the other treatments (p<0.05), meanwhile dry matter and nutrient intakes were similar. The average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency, and rumen fermentation profiles were similar in all treatments. It is concluded that cricket meal can be used in milk replacer without any negative effect on health status. CM-30 ration has good palatability without any negative effect on the rumen fermentation profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feed cost contributes 80% of the total cost of production in quails. The utilization of cricket meal as a protein source can be a solution to reduce feed costs. The cricket has a high nutritive value, especially protein content, and is one of potential insects to be used as a source of alternative protein to replace fish meal in animal diet. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cricket meal on the production and physical quality of japanese quail egg (Coturnix coturnix japonica). The experiment used 200 five-week-old female quails with an average body weight of 125.4 g. The completely randomized design (CRD) was employed for the experiments with 5 treatments and 4 replications (10 birds per replication). The dietary treatments were T0: diet without cricket meal, T1: diet containing 2% cricket meal to replace 25% of fish meal, T2: diet containing 4% cricket meal to replace 50% of fish meal, T3: diet containing 6% cricket meal to replace 75% of fish meal, and T4: diet containing 8% cricket meal to replace 100% of fish meal. Results revealed that utilization of cricket meal in the quail ration significantly increased egg production (P<0.05) and positively affected physical quality of quail eggs, such as egg weight, egg white weight, eggshell weight, and yolk score. It can be concluded that cricket meal can partially or fully replace fish meal in the diet of layer quails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Cross-allergenicity occurs between field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) and shrimp. • Binding of shrimp-specific IgE was dose-dependently inhibited by Gryllus allergen. • The major allergen in shrimp and Gryllus was determined to be tropomyosin. Abstract Food scarcity is a serious problem for many developing as well as developed countries. Edible insects have attracted attention recently as a novel food source. Crickets are especially high in nutritional value and easy to breed and harvest. In this study, we evaluated the risk of allergic reactions associated with cricket consumption in individuals with crustacean allergy. We evaluated food allergy risk in the consumption of Gryllus bimaculatus (cricket) in patients with shrimp allergy, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgE crosslinking-induced luciferase expression assay (EXiLE). Sera from individuals with shrimp allergy (positive for shrimp-specific IgE by ImmunoCAP (>0.35 UA/mL; n = 9) or without shrimp allergy (negative for shrimp-specific IgE; n = 6) were obtained. There was a strong correlation between shrimp- and Gryllus -specific IgE levels obtained by ELISA (r s = 0.99; P < 0.001). The binding of shrimp-specific IgE on shrimp allergen was dose-dependently inhibited by Gryllus allergen (0–1.0 mg/mL). There was a strong correlation between shrimp- and Gryllus -specific IgE responses, as assessed by EXiLE assays (r s = 0.89; P < 0.001). We determined that a protein of approximately 40 kDa reacted with the positive, but not negative, sera for shrimp-specific IgE by ImmunoCAP. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analysis identified the major allergen in shrimp and Gryllus to be tropomyosin. Our data suggest that the cricket allergen has the potential to induce an allergic reaction in individuals with crustacean allergy. Therefore, allergy risk and shrimp-specific IgE levels should be considered before consumption of cricket meal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein extracts from edible insects have not been exploited fully in product development due to limited information on extraction and functionality of the protein extracts. Therefore there was a need to evaluate the effect of selected protein extraction methods on the physico-chemical characteristics and functional properties of extracted proteins. Farmed edible crickets were obtained from JKUAT farm in Kenya, freeze dried and ground to powder. The proteins were extracted using two methods namely; hexane and aqueous extraction. Yield was determined gravimetrically and colour by colourimetric method. The crude protein, crude fibre, crude fat, crude ash and available carbohydrates were determined using standard analytical methods. Protein digestibility was determined using enzymatic digestion methods while protein fractions were extracted and quantified gravimetrically. The water holding capacity was determined using standard AACC procedure. Emulsion capacity and stability, foaming capacity and foam stability were also investigated. HE recorded the highest yield. Lightness and hue angle were significantly affected by the extraction method with hexane extraction recording higher values compared to aqueous extraction ( P < 0.0001, P = 0.0003). The proximate components except crude fiber were affected by the extraction method. Aqueous extraction recorded significantly higher values for globulin (19.42%), prolamin (6.26%) and glutelin (10.10%) ( P < 0.0001). There was no significance difference in water holding capacity and oil adsorption capacity. However AE precipitate recorded higher values for emulsion capacity (41.70%), emulsion stability (33.61%), foaming capacity (11.11%) and foam stability (10.15%). Extraction methods had an effect on physio- chemical and functional characteristics of the protein concentrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disgust and neophobia elicited by whole insect products, has necessitated the need to mask insect-based food products. The physico-chemical parameters, sensory acceptance, and willingness to pay (WTP) for wheat biscuits supplemented with cricket powder was evaluated. The biscuits' color intensity correlated with the cricket inclusion levels. Spread ration of cricket-enriched-biscuits increased (1.0–1.2-folds), while the hardness and fracturability decreased (1.0–1.3-folds and 1.0–1.2 folds, respectively) compared to the control biscuit. Cricket-biscuits exhibited 1.2–1.7, 1.1–3.7, 1.2–3.0 and 1.1–1.2-folds higher (p < 0.05) protein, ash, fiber, and fat, respectively. Ca, Fe, and Zn were 1.1–3.7, 1.1–1.2 and 1.4–4.0-folds higher, respectively, for cricket-based biscuits. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids proportionally increased with increasing cricket flour. On a likert scale, 71.4%, 71.9%, 38.4% and 57.5% of the caregivers and 38.6%, 58.3%, 40.0% and 34.0% for children (3–5 years) strongly preferred the color, texture, taste and aroma, respectively, of the cricket-based biscuits. Forty-seven (47%) of the caretakers were WTP a premium of 37 Kenyan shillings (0.34 USD) for cricket-based biscuits. Our findings demonstrated that integration of cricket flour into existing market-driven consumer familiar food products significantly increased acceptability and WTP, thus promising potential to contribute to improved food and nutritional security. • Childhood malnutrition is an important public health problem. • Protein and fat in cricket-enriched biscuits exceeded the daily recommended amount. • Cricket-enriched biscuits can tackle protein-energy malnutrition, Fe, and Zn deficiencies. • Caregivers expressed increased acceptability and WTP for cricket-enriched biscuits. • More studies are needed to examine their effect on nutritional status in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that insect meals can partially or completely replace fish meal (FM) that are commonly used in aquaculture. Therefore, a 10-week feeding trail was done to test the potential impacts of replacement of FM with cricket meal (CM) on the growth performance, body composition, blood health, liver antioxidant activities, intestinal microbiota and immune reaction of juvenile channel catfish. Five isonitrogenous (crude protein 35%) and isocaloric (19 MJ/kg−1) diets were formulated to have 0%, 25%, 50%,75% and 100% CM and named T0, T25, T50, T75 and T100 groups, respectively. Final body weight (FBW), weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) in fish fed T50 and T75 groups were considerably elevated compared with fish fed control T0 group. Higher hepatosomatic index (HSI) was found in fish fed T50, T75 and T100 groups compared with fish fed control T0 group. The moisture and crude protein contents in fish fed T75 and T100 groups were significantly increased than that of fish fed control T0 group. Hematological parameters examination of juvenile channel catfish demonstrated that hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) showed significantly higher values with increasing content of CM in dietary fish fed groups. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity level were highest in fish fed T75 group, respectively. Catalase (CAT) activity in fish fed T50 to T100 groups was significantly greater than those of fish fed control T0 and fish fed T25 groups. Intestinal microbiota sequencing analysis showed that Chao1, Shannon, Simpson indices, and Good's coverage in fish fed control T0, fish fed T50 and T100 groups were not significantly affected. Intestinal microbiota analysis showed the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were dominated at the phyla level. Moreover, with an increasing of CM replacement, the abundance of a prominent pathogenic bacterial Acinetobacter was reduced at the genus level although no significant differences. The immune-related gene expression levels of IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10 and HIF1α were up-regulated in intestine when CM replacement increased from 0% to 75%, and higher levels were observed in fish fed T75 group comparing to others. The expression levels of TNF-α, IL-22 and IFN-γ were significantly elevated in fish fed T100 group. Notably, fish fed T50 to T100 groups down-regulated the expression of NF-κB compared to the other groups. To conclude, the present findings show that CM could enhance growth performance, improving blood health and liver antioxidant capacity, and substantial alterations in intestinal microbial composition of juvenile channel catfish, suggesting that FM could be replaced by CM as insect protein source in channel catfish diet. • The feasibility of replacing fishmeal with cricket meal in juvenile channel catfish diet were investigated. • Dietary replacement of 100% fishmeal with cricket meal has no negative effect on growth performance. • Dietary replacement of fishmeal with cricket meal increased crude protein content and enhanced liver antioxidant activities. • The replacement of cricket meal upregulated the immune-related gene expression of IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10 and HIF1α in intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed to evaluate the utilization of cricket (insect) meal as protein source in growing sheep ration. The experiment was conducted using Completely Randomized Design using three treatments with four replicates of local growing sheep (BW 11.24±1.62 kg). The treatments consisted of concentrate containing soybean meal (C), concentrate containing cricket meal with 50% replacement of soybean meal (CM-50) and concentrate containing cricket meal with 100% replacement of soybean meal (CM-100). All the animals were fed 40% forage Brachiaria humidicola and 60% concentrate. The parameters measured were nutrient consumption, rumen fermentation, including methane production, nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites level (glucose, triglyceride and total protein). Result showed that there were no significant differences in dry matter, protein and energy consumptions among three treatments. The digestibility of nutrients and blood metabolites were also similar in all treatments. Concentration of total VFA in control (113 mM.L-1) and CM-50 (116.33 mM.L-1) was significantly lower (P<0.05) than in CM-100 (135 mM.L-1) treatment. Methane estimated from VFA partial in CM-50 (25.22 mmol) was significantly lower than CM-100 (33.93 mmol). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Protein sources of high quality and sustainability are found in insects. In many regions, insects are a primary food source, such as in Africa, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Insects are considered promising alternative feed sources, in particular as a source of protein. The use of edible insects as high-protein sources is widespread, and cricket has been proved to be a potential food and feed insect species. Cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) also contain 54.10% crude protein, 6.90% crude fiber, 26.90% fat, and 78.90% total digestible nutrient, as well as a variety of essential amino acids, including methionine, lysine, histidine, valine, and leucine. In addition, insects have been investigated as a source of protein in diets of poultry, swine, and fish. However, there are currently little data on the utilization of insects as ruminant feed. The objective of this experiment was to conduct the effects of Cricket meal (Gryllus bimaculatus) (CM) as a protein replacement for soybean meal on in vitro fermentation end products, gas production, nutrient degradability, and methane mitigation. The aim of this work was to conduct the effects of cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) meal (CM) as a protein supplement on in vitro gas production, rumen fermentation, and methane (CH4) mitigation. Dietary treatments were randomly assigned using a completely randomized design (CRD) with a 2 × 5 factorial arrangement. The first factor was two ratios of roughage to concentrate (R:C at 60:40 and 40:60), and the second factor was the level of CM to replace soybean meal (SBM) in a concentrate ratio at 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100, respectively. It was found that in vitro DM degradability and the concentration of propionic (C3) were significantly increased (p < 0.05), while the potential extent of gas production (a + b), acetate (C2), acetate and propionate (C2:C3) ratio, and protozoal population were reduced (p < 0.05) by lowering the R:C ratio and the replacement of SBM by CM. In addition, rumen CH4 production was mitigated (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of CM for SBM. In this study, CM has the potential to improve rumen fermentation by enhancing C3 concentration and DM degradability, reduced methane production, and C2:C3 ratio. The effects were more pronounced (p < 0.05) at low levels of roughage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]