Hermetia illucens Protein Conjugated with Glucose via Maillard Reaction: Antioxidant and Techno-Functional Properties

Abstract

The food industry is considering novel sources of proteins with enhanced functionalities to meet the increasing demand and population growth. Edible insect proteins have emerged as an alternative that is environmentally friendly and economically viable and thus could make a significant contribution to global food security. This study was aimed to establish the effect of conjugation via the Maillard reaction on the antioxidant and techno-functional properties of black soldier fly larvae protein concentrate. Reaction mixtures containing black soldier fly larvae protein concentrate and glucose (2 : 1 weight ratio) were wet-heated at 50, 70, and 90°C for 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 h, respectively, with an initial pH of 9. The results showed that the browning indices of the black soldier fly larvae-glucose (BSFL-Glu) model system increased with an increase in reaction time and temperature, with conjugates formed at 90°C exhibiting the highest browning intensity at 420 nm. At 50°C, the DPPH-RS of the conjugates ranged from 15.47 to 32.37%. The ABTS+ radical scavenging activity of BSFL-Glu conjugates produced at 90°C exhibited significantly ( p < 0.05 ) higher scavenging activity as a function of reaction time. The foaming capacity of BSFL-Glu conjugates produced at 70°C showed a significant increase ( p < 0.05 ) as a function of reaction time. Principal component analysis was applied to browning and antioxidant indices. Component 1 of the score plot accounted for 89%, while component 2 accounted for 8% of the observed variability and allowed discrimination/differentiation of the samples based on the heating temperature. These findings provide a practical means to improve the functionality of novel edible insect proteins for food application.

Proximate, Physicochemical, Techno-Functional and Antioxidant Properties of Three Edible Insect (Gonimbrasia belina, Hermetia illucens and Macrotermes subhylanus) Flours

“…The water-binding capacity (WBC) of the edible insect flours was determined according to Mshayisa and van Wyk [ 26 ] with slight modifications. Briefly, a 0.5 g sample was mixed with 2.5 mL deionized water, vortexed for 60 s (Vortex-Genie 2, Scientific Industries, Bohemia, NY, USA), and centrifuged for 20 min at 3220 g at room temperature.…”

“…Emulsifying properties were determined according to the method of Mshayisa and van Wyk [ 26 ] The samples were dispersed in distilled water 1% ( w / v ), and 15 mL of the dispersion was homogenized with 15 mL of vegetable oil at a speed of 10,000 rpm for 3 min. Subsequently, the samples were centrifuged (Thermo Electron Corporation Jouan MR1812, Waltham, MA, USA) at 3220 g for 5 min and the volume of the individual layers were read.…”

Nutritional, Techno-Functional and Structural Properties of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae Flours and Protein Concentrates

“…The BSFL protein concentrate (BSFL-PC1) was prepared as previously described [ 16 ]. Briefly, after defatting, BSFL flour (BSFL-DF) was mixed with Milli-Q water at a ratio of 1:10 ( w / w ), and the pH of the mixture was adjusted to pH 10 using 1 M NaOH solution ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…The foaming properties of the edible insects were measured according to Mshayisa and Van Wyk [ 16 ] with slight modifications. The edible insect and protein concentrates were rehydrated in Milli-Q water (5% w / v ) followed by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm for 15 min.…”

The Nutritional Quality and Structural Analysis of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Flour before and after Defatting

“…As previously mentioned, the nutrient composition of insects varies, with crude protein and crude lipid levels ranging from 40 to 54% and 15 to 49%, respectively, depending on the substrates fed to the larvae and the methods used to process them [5,7,8]. As a result, insect larvae can contain vital nutrients from sources that are not specifically appropriate for human or animal nutrition, a capability that can be used to tailor the insect larvae's composition to desired nutrient profiles for use as feed ingredients.…”