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

Abstract

In this study, edible insect flours from Gonimbrasia belina (Mashonzha), Hermetia illucens (black soldier fly larvae) and Macrotermes subhylanus (Madzhulu) were prepared and assessed in terms of proximal, physicochemical, techno-functional and antioxidant properties. The crude protein of the edible insect flours varied between 34.90–52.74%. The crude fat of the insect flours differed significantly (p < 0.05), with H. illucens (27.93%) having the highest crude fat. G. belina was lighter (L*) and yellower (+b*) compared to H. illucens and M. subhylanus, and there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the redness (+a*) of the edible insect flours. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in foam capacity and foam stability of all three edible insect flours. Moreover, the antioxidant activity against the DPPH radical was low for H. illucens (3.63%), with M. subhylanus (55.37%) exhibiting the highest DPPH radical. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the techno-functional properties and antioxidant indices of the edible insect flours. PC1 accounted for 51.39% of the total variability, while component 2 accounted for 24.71%. In terms of PC1, the FS, OBC and FC were responsible for the major differences in the edible insect flours. The findings revealed that edible insect flours are a good source of antioxidants and can be used as an alternative protein source and a potential novel food additive due to their techno-functional qualities.

Potential of Insect Life Stages as Functional Ingredients for Improved Nutrition and Health

“…These variations could be due to the differences in habitat, climate, sex, processing method and genetic variability [ 26 , 42 , 43 ]. Studies have shown that the protein content of insects ranges between 25 and 75% [ 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ], which corroborate results of this study. However, it is important to note that the protein values in the current study were significantly higher when compared to some animal and plant protein sources such as milk, beef, roasted goat meat, broiler, pork, eggs, dried whey protein concentrate and soybeans, in which protein constitute between 24 and 45% [ 39 , 69 , 70 ].…”

“…The ash content levels agree with those reported by other authors investigating various edible insects [ 48 , 53 , 68 , 70 , 72 ]. There is a consensus among researchers that ash content of a given sample correlates with its specific mineral elements, which agrees with our findings.…”

Ultrafiltration of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) and Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) Protein Concentrates to Enhance Emulsifying and Foaming Properties

“…The molecular weight distribution of the protein fractions from ultrafiltration and acidic solubilization was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) under reducing conditions [ 22 ]. Samples (10 µL) at a concentration of 2 mg/mL and/or 12 mg/mL were loaded to a 4–20% Mini-PROTEAN ® TGX™ precast gel (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA).…”

Effects of Blanching Methods on Nutritional Properties and Physicochemical Characteristics of Hot-Air Dried Edible Insect Larvae

“…Bulk density is a major representative property of granules and coarsely ground solids (soil, protein extracts, and gravel) (Mintah et al, 2020). This is an important property of powdered products, due to its significant economic effect on reducing packaging costs (Vanqa et al, 2022). The bulk density results for the protein powder according to the different types of pre-treatments are shown in Figure 2(a).…”