Comparative study of composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of two adult edible insects from Tenebrionidae family

Abstract

In the case of Tenebrionidae family insects, studies focus on larval stage, leaving a lack of information regarding other stages. Therefore, this study was performed in order to understand the differences between the nutritional composition and the bioactivity of two species of this family in their adult stage, fed with a specific diet. Adult beetles of both species were defatted, lyophilized and protein extracted with buffer. Proximal and phytochemical analysis of the extracts of each insect were performed, along with protein extract and hydrolysis analysis by Tris-Tricine and Tris Glycine SDS PAGE. This analysis showed that T. molitor contained more protein and fat than U. dermestoides but contained less crude fiber. The protein extraction was made with PBS, where 130 and 45 kDa bands showed predominant for U. dermestoides, and less protein was present for T. molitor. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the enzymatic protein hydrolysates and protein crude extracts were determined. Presence of protein associated with the antioxidant activity were found in both insects. Nonetheless U. dermestoides had a higher antioxidant activity with the protein extract in contrast with the higher antioxidant activity shown by U. dermestoides once the extracts were digested. After proteolysis, protein extracts showed an increasing antioxidant activity, plus, the ability to inhibit microbial growth of Proteus, Shigella and Bacillus. Insect protein hydrolysates with protease open the possibility for the use of these beetles as new sources of encrypted peptides for microbiological control once characterized.

Dietary Modulation of Oxidative Stress From Edible Insects: A Mini-Review

“…No studies on human subjects were available. Table 1 (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) shows the studies investigating the in vitro antioxidant activity of edible insects and invertebrate fractions. Several methods were taken into account: the most used was the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), performed in 14 papers (7-15, 18-20, 23, 24), while 2,2 ′ -azino-bis(3ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing Abbreviations: 8-OHdG, 8-hydroxy-2 ′ -deoxyguanosine; ABTS, 2,2 ′ -azino-bis(3ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid); CAT, catalase; DPPH, 1,1-diphenyl-2picrylhydrazyl; CP, compound; FRAP, ferric reducing antioxidant power; GHG, greenhouse gas emissions; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; GST, glutathione Stransferase; LS, lipo-soluble extract; MDA, malondialdehyde; NO, nitric oxide; Nrf2, Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor; ORAC, oxygen radical absorbance capacity; PH, protein hydrolysates; RNS, reactive nitrogen species; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SAHR, scavenging activity on hydroxyl radicals; SOD, superoxide dismutase; SRSC, superoxide radical scavenging capacity; TAC, total antioxidant capacity; TEAC, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity; TOS, total oxidant status; WI, whole insect; WS, water-soluble extract.…”

“…antioxidant power (FRAP) were utilized in 11 (6,7,10,11,13,14,16,17,19,20,22) and 8 studies (6, 10-12, 14, 15, 19, 21), respectively. Antioxidant activity was investigated also as scavenging activity against different radicals, metal ion chelating activity, reducing power, or, only for the paper of Sun et al (25), with β-carotene and linolenic acid bleaching tests.…”

“…Nineteen studies were carried out, involving 30 species of insects; of these, the most studied was Tenebrio molitor, cited in nine papers (6-10, 13-16), followed by Acheta domesticus (6,8,9) and Gryllodes sigillatus (7,19,20), tested in three papers, and Bombyx mori (6,11), Hermetia illucens (21,22), and Lethocerus indicus (6,24) in two papers. Water-soluble fractions were tested in 12 papers (6, 9-15, 17, 18, 20, 24), protein hydrolysates were evaluated in 6 research articles (7,8,16,19,21,22), while lipo-soluble fractions were reported in 2 papers only (6,23). Interestingly, all tested fractions showed a significant antioxidant activity with the only exception of the cricket Gryllus sigillatus protein hydrolysates that did not show any positive results using the FRAP method, while an antioxidant capacity was recorded using ABTS, DPPH, and metal ion chelating activity methods (19).…”

Soybean hawkmoth (Clanis bilineata tsingtauica) as food ingredients: a review

“…When the individual active components of CBTL are separated and tested for their anti-oxidation effects independently, Sun (2018) found that CBTL extract exhibited better effect presumably due to the synergistic effects of various active components in the CBTL extract. In contrast, the protein extract of Tenebrio molitor, Ulomoides dermestoides, and Bombyx mori exhibited high antioxidant activities in some edible insects (Baek et al, 2020;Flores et al, 2020). CBTL also contains high protein content, suggesting the peptides or amino acids to be antioxidant.…”

An Overview of Antimicrobial Compounds from African Edible Insects and Their Associated Microbiota

“…In sub-Saharan Africa, edible insects have been used as food because they are a good source of protein and essential fatty acids [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. They are also high in micronutrients such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, as well as vitamins such as riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, vitamin A, B complex, and C [ 22 , 23 ].…”