Satiety of Edible Insect-Based Food Products as a Component of Body Weight Control

Abstract

Among the many aspects determining the nutritional potential of insect-based foods, research into the satiating potential of foods is an important starting point in the design of new functional foods, including those based on edible insects. The aim of this study was to assess the satiating value of products with the addition of freeze-dried insect flour. The test material included wheat pancakes in which corresponding proportions of wheat flour were substituted with 10% Mw, 0% Mw, and 30% Mw of flour from freeze-dried Tenebrio molitor, 10% Bw, 20% Bw, and 30% Bw of flour from Alphitobius diaperinus, and 10% Cr, 20% Cr, and 30% Cr of flour from Acheta domesticus. The study included the characterisation of physico-chemical properties and their effect on the satiating potential of the analysed pancakes. A total of 71 healthy volunteers (n = 39 women, n = 32 men) with no food phobias were qualified for the study. Each subject rated the level of hunger and satiety before and after ingestion at 30 min intervals over the subsequent 180 min on two separate graphical scales. The rating was done on an unstructured 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). A portion intended for testing had a value of 240 kcal. The highest average satiety values were noted for the pancakes with an addition of 30% Alphitobius diaperinus (Bw) and with the addition of 20% and 30% addition of Acheta domesticus flour (Cr). The Tenebrio molitor-based products were the least satiating. However, the largest addition of 30% of an insect flour for each variant considerably increased the satiating potential as compared to the control sample. Satiety was influenced the most by the protein content in the test wheat pancakes. The results support the idea of a possible usage of insect-based food products in the composition of obesity treatment diets, carbohydrate-limiting diets, and as alternative sources of protein.

Characterization of commercial cricket protein powder and impact of cricket protein powder replacement on wheat dough protein composition

“…Adebowale et al (2005) concluded that the African giant cricket would be suited for foods requiring gelling and thickening, foods where water retention is desirable during cooking, and good for food products involving fat absorption such as bakery products. Research regarding the enrichment of foods with insect proteins has found them to be promising additives for the improvement of the nutritional profile and satiety potential of foods (Kowalski et al, 2022a; Skotnicka et al, 2022). Supplementation of gluten‐free bread with cricket powder led to an improvement in the free amino acid profile due to an increased level of pyrazines found in the enriched bread (Wieczorek et al, 2022).…”

Effect of the Addition of Edible Insect Flour from Yellow Mealworm (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i>) on the Sensory Acceptance, and the Physicochemical and Textural Properties of Sponge Cake

“…Therefore, edible insects may not only diversify the daily diet, contribute to food and nutritional security, but also have an impact on the reduction of the carbon footprint compared to the production of protein from farm animals [Vauterin et al, 2021]. Edible insects are known to be of use in variety of food products, including cricket powder for the production of muffin [Pauter et al, 2018]; Hermetia illucens, Acheta domesticus, Alphitobius diaperinus and Tenebrio molitor flours for bakery products [González et al, 2019;Kowalski at al., 2022;Wu et al, 2020], A. diaperinus and A. domesticus for pancakes [Skotnicka et al, 2022] as well as mealworm larvae as a meat substitute in the production of hamburgers [Megido et al, 2016].…”

Effects of Insect Consumption on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Human Studies

“…Thus, 14 studies were included in the systematic analysis. Nine studies were randomized controlled trials (RCT), with the consumption of insect-based meals as the test product [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] ( Table 1 ). The other five studies addressed allergenicity ( Table 2 ): one was a patient study case [ 33 ], one was an epidemiological study that assessed exposure to insect allergens by skin pricks [ 34 ], and three were cross-reactivity studies involving patients’ sera exposure to extracts containing insects’ allergens [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…The nine RCT studies were divided according to the primary outcomes studied: iron absorption [ 31 ], amino acid absorption and muscle protein synthesis or strength [ 25 , 26 , 28 ], amino acid absorption and appetite regulation [ 29 , 30 , 32 ], microbiota [ 24 ], and disease treatment, specifically, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CPOD) [ 27 ] ( Table 1 ). Six studies presented a high risk of bias, one had some concerns, and two studies had a low risk of bias ( Table S1 ).…”