Version 1
: Received: 16 October 2023 / Approved: 17 October 2023 / Online: 18 October 2023 (10:03:03 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 20 October 2023 / Approved: 23 October 2023 / Online: 24 October 2023 (08:16:34 CEST)
Perez-Santaescolastica, C.; de Pril, I.; van de Voorde, I.; Fraeye, I. Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profiles of Seven Edible Insects: Focus on Lipid Class Composition and Protein Conversion Factors. Foods2023, 12, 4090.
Perez-Santaescolastica, C.; de Pril, I.; van de Voorde, I.; Fraeye, I. Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profiles of Seven Edible Insects: Focus on Lipid Class Composition and Protein Conversion Factors. Foods 2023, 12, 4090.
Perez-Santaescolastica, C.; de Pril, I.; van de Voorde, I.; Fraeye, I. Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profiles of Seven Edible Insects: Focus on Lipid Class Composition and Protein Conversion Factors. Foods2023, 12, 4090.
Perez-Santaescolastica, C.; de Pril, I.; van de Voorde, I.; Fraeye, I. Fatty Acid and Amino Acid Profiles of Seven Edible Insects: Focus on Lipid Class Composition and Protein Conversion Factors. Foods 2023, 12, 4090.
Abstract
This study is based on the fatty acid and amino acid profile of 7 edible insect species: Acheta domesticus, Alphitobius diaperinus, Blaptica dubia, Galleria mellonella, Locusta migratoria, Tenebrio molitor and Zophobas morio. The fatty acid distribution within lipid classes (neutral lipids, glycolipids and phospholipids) was studied, while the amino acid profile was used to calculate the species-specific nitrogen-protein conversion factor (Kp). The profiles were used to evaluate the nutritional quality of the lipids and proteins. Oleic acid was the predominant fatty acid in all insects except for A. domesticus, in which a larger percentage of linoleic acid was found. The majority of the lipids were neutral lipids. L. migratoria showed a remarkably high content of α-linolenic acid in its phospholipid fraction, while T. molitor phospholipids were the only fraction in which a measurable amount of docosahexaenoic acid was found. Overall, in most insects, the phospholipid fraction had the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid content compared to the other classes, which may be protective in terms of autoxidative stability. Kp values in the range of 4.17 to 6.43 were obtained. Within the nutritional quality indices, all insects showed healthy fatty acid and high quality amino acid profiles.
Keywords
Edible insect; lipid classes; index of atherogenicity; index of thrombogenicity; species-specific conversion factor; amino acid scores
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Food Science and Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Commenter: Cristina Perez-Santaescolastica
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author