*2.2. Proximate Composition of Mealworm Meals*

The crude fat content was obtained after hexane extraction based on a Soxhlet method (AOAC 960.39). The moisture and ash contents were determined by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods 925.09 and 923.03, respectively. The crude protein content was obtained by the Dumas method (Rapid Micro N Cube, Elementar, Langenselbold, Germany) while using a protein-to-nitrogen conversion factor of 4.76 [22]. The chitin content was determined according to the method described by Spinelli et al. [23]. Proximate composition of mealworm meal on dry basis was 45.8 ± 0.2 protein, 15.5 ± 0.9 lipid, 5.2 ± 0.0 ash, and 7.7 ± 1.0 chitin.
