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

Abstract

Due to their protein content and balanced amino acid profile, edible insects have been described as an excellent alternative protein source to combat malnutrition. As the global population continues to grow, edible insects such as the black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) may contribute to food security. The effect of different protein extraction methods, i.e., alkaline solution and acid precipitation (BSFL-PC1) and extraction with an alkali (BSFL-PC2), on the nutritional, techno-functional, and structural properties of BSFL flours and protein concentrates were studied. The highest protein content (73.35%) was obtained under alkaline and acid precipitation extraction (BSFL-PC1). The sum of essential amino acids significantly increased (p < 0.05) from 24.98% to 38.20% due to the defatting process during extraction. Protein solubility was significantly higher in protein concentrates (85–97%) than flours (30–35%) at pH 2. The emulsion capacity (EC) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the protein concentrates (BSFL-PC1 and BSFL-PC2) compared to the freeze-dried and defatted BSFL flours, while the emulsion stability (ES) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in BSFL-PC1 (100%) compared with BSFL-PC2 (49.8%). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed in foaming stability (FS) between freeze-dried and defatted BSFL flours. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis revealed distinct structural differences between BSFL flours and protein concentrates. This was supported by surface morphology through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, which showed that the protein extraction method influenced the structural properties of the protein concentrates. Therefore, based on the nutritional and techno-functional properties, BSFL flour fractions and protein concentrates show promise as novel functional ingredients for use in food applications.

Evaluating the Potential of Marine Invertebrate and Insect Protein Hydrolysates to Reduce Fetal Bovine Serum in Cell Culture Media for Cultivated Fish Production

“…In this study, insect protein hydrolysates showed OHC values ranging between 3.54 and 4.83 g/g, which was within the previously reported range, including BSF (0.8–5.2 g/g) [ 35 , 36 , 37 ] and cricket (1.42–3.5 g/g) [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Crickets had the highest OHC compared to the other sources, and the mussels and oysters were revealed to have the lowest OHC among the selected protein sources ( p < 0.05), which could be due to the higher content of hydrophobic amino acids in oyster, mussel, and lugworm hydrolysates compared to those of BSF and cricket hydrolysates.…”

Evaluating the potential of marine invertebrate and insect protein hydrolysates to reduce fetal bovine serum in cell culture media for cultivated fish production

“…05 ). Insect hydrolysates’ emulsion capacity was in the range of 57.8-60%, which is in agreement with other researchers finding (39-98%) (Adebowalea et al, 2005; Mshayisa et al, 2022; Trinh & Supawong, 2021). The emulsion capacity of bivalve mollusks fell consistently in the 35-65% range as found by other studies (Haldar et al, 2018; Naik et al, 2020).…”

“…In this study, insect protein hydrolysates showed OHC values ranging between 3.54 to 4.83 g/g, which was within the previously reported range, including BSF (0.8-5.2 g/g) (Mshayisa et al, 2022;Purschke et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2021) and cricket (1.42-3.5 g/g) (Leni et al, 2020;Stone et al, 2019;Zielińska et al, 2018). Cricket had the highest OHC compared to other sources, and the mussels and oysters revealed the lowest OHC among the selected protein sources (P < 0.05), which could be due to the higher content of hydrophobic amino acids in oyster, mussels and lugworm hydrolysates compared to BSF and cricket hydrolysates.…”

“…As a result, hydrolysates should not increase the foaming that occurs spontaneously in a bioreactor when added to media. Insect hydrolysates produced in this study indicated foam capacity as 4 and 20%, which is extremely low compared to the cricket and BSF found in literature which were 39-100% (Hall et al, 2017; Mshayisa et al, 2022). The bivalve protein hydrolysates showed lower foaming capacity (40-50%) than snail and scallop (51.1-160%) (Chatterjee et al, 2020; Jin et al, 2012).…”

Interest in Insects as Food and Feed: It Does Not Wane in the Public Domain

“…Investigating the nutritional, techno-functional and structural properties of Black Soldier Fly ( Hermetia illucens ) larval flours (BSFL) and protein concentrates has been the subject of the paper by Mshayisa et al [ 17 ]. The highest protein content (73.35%) was obtained under alkaline and acid precipitation extraction (BSFL-PC1).…”