The development of modern competitive market for feed requires constantly finding new ways to improve their quality and reduce production costs. One of the ways to reduce the additives production cost is to use other unconventional technologies of obtaining biologically active protein-containing substances and wormycultivation is among these technologies.

Wormyculture can be a source of protein for livestock and poultry. Growing worms on both industrial basis and in the farms is a rather topical issue.

Californian worms are used in wormycultivation most widely. California red worms hybrid belong to oligochaetes (Oligocheta). Their body length is 60–130 mm, thickness – 3.5–5.0 mm.

The optimum temperature for worm growing is 20–22 °C, and the critical one is below 0 °C and over 42 °C. Under the temperature of +7 °C worms fall into a state of suspended animation. The optimal substrate humidity is – 75–88 %, and the critical one is below 40 % and above 95 %.

The perspectivity of wormycultivation biotechnology implementating on an industrial basis and in the private sector consists in the fact that Red Californian worm hybrids increase their biomass under organic residues non-waste recycling. The chemical composition of the wormyculture biomass depends on the composition of the substrate the worms are grown. Thus, the aim of the study was to establish the content of protein, amino acids and microelements in the biomass of wormyculture grown on the substrate of cattle manure and cereals straw.

Wormyculture grown in the Bila Tserkva national agrarian university vivarium conditions was used for the research. Worms were grown on the substrate consisting of fermented cattle manure and cereals straw. Worm samples were selected using a probe (10x10x60 cm) in chess order. Protein, lysine, methionine, glycine, cysteine, copper, lead and zinc content were determined in the wormyculture biomass.

The biochemical analysis proved that protein content was 62.0 % in the dry matter of Red Californian worms hybrid grown on the substrate with fermented cattle manure and cereals straw biomass as the basic component.

It was also found that the lysine content in the wormyculture biomass was at the level of 6.4 %. Of sulfur amino acids methionine and cystine were investigated. Methionine content as compared to that of lysine was 2.7 times lower and amounted to 23.2 g/kg or 2.3 % while cystine concentration in the worms dry matter was the lowest and varied at 1.7 % level.

Of essential amino-acids glycine contents was examined. This amino acid concentration was 2.5 and 3.3 times higher than that of methionine and cystine, respectively, and amounted to 58.5 g/kg or 5.85 %. However, lysine content was than 9.0 % lower as compared to glycine content.

Thus, analysis of protein and some amino acids content shows that wormyculture bioma is a valuable protein additive to farm animals, poultry and fish diets.

Minerals content in the Red Californian worm biomass depends on the substrate it is grown on. Thus we set a goal to investigate concentration of  some biotyc metals like zinc and copper and toxicant metal of lead in worms dry matter along with determining protein and some amino acids content.

It has been found out that the zinc concentration in the wormyculture biomass was 68.1 mg/kg, which is 15–17 % higher than that in meat flour. Copper concentration was significantly lower – this metal content was 12.8 times lower as compared to zinc and made 5.3 mg/kg. Havinh compared copper content in the worms biomass and meat-and-bone flour we found that the metal concentration in wormyculture biomass was 3.5 times higher.

It has been experimentally found out that lead content in the wormyculture biomass does not exceed the maximum permissible level and is 0.06 mg/kg of worm biomass dry matter.

Thus, wormyculture biomass is a better source of microelements for zinc and copper content than that of meat and meat-and-bone flour.

Key words: wormyculture biomass, Red Californian worm, substrate, Copper, Zinc, Lead, protein, aminoacids.