Food Waste Management Employing UV-Induced Black Soldier Flies: Metabolomic Analysis of Bioactive Components, Antioxidant Properties, and Antibacterial Potential

Abstract

Food waste, as a major part of municipal solid waste, has been increasingly generated worldwide. Efficient and feasible utilization of this waste material for biomanufacturing is crucial to improving economic and environmental sustainability. In the present study, black soldier flies (BSF) larvae were used as carriers to treat and upcycle food waste. Larvae of the BSF were incubated with UV light for 10, 20, and 30 min at a wavelength of 257.3 nm and an intensity of 8 W. The food waste utilization efficiency, antioxidant assays, antibacterial activity, and bioactive metabolites without and with UV treatment were determined and compared. Results showed that the BSF larvae feed utilization rate was around 75.6%, 77.7%, and 71.2% after UV treatment for 10, 20, and 30 min respectively, contrasting with the non-UV induced group (73.7%). In addition, it was perceived that the UV exposure enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of BSF extracts, and the maximum values were observed after 20 min UV induction time. Moreover, UV-induced BSF extracts showed an improved metabolic profile than the control group, with a change in the amino acids, peptides, organic acids, lipids, organic oxides, and other derivatives. This change in metabolomics profile boosted environmental signaling, degradation of starch, amino acids, sugars, and peptide metabolism. It was concluded that the bioconversion of food wastes using UV-induced BSF larvae can enhance the generation of a variety of functional proteins and bioactive compounds with potent antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. However, more studies are required to exploit the efficiency of UV treatment in improving BSF’s potential for upcycling of food wastes.

Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.): A potential small mighty giant in the field of cosmeceuticals

“… 29 Compared to the Nonirradiated BSF larvae, the extract derived from UV‐treated larvae displayed enhanced DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities. 29 These data suggest that the insect would require stimulation to produce extracts with better results, given that UV irradiation can activate the immune system of the insect and trigger the generation of certain compounds involved in hormonal and cellular defense responses. 65 This is evident when comparing these data with that of protein hydrolysates obtained from BSF larvae without any prior induction, which demonstrated lower DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities.…”

“…In the past decade, many solvents have been used to prepare BSF larvae extracts to study the insect's antimicrobial effects, such as methanol, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and even acetic acid. 10 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 Out of the various conventional extraction methods for natural products, only maceration and reflux extraction have been applied for the BSF. Maceration involved soaking the BSF larvae in a solvent at room temperature for a period of time, after which the resulting extract was filtered and concentrated.…”

“… 29 Most of these bioactive compounds, specifically alkaloids and phenolic compounds, were actually phytocompounds derived from traditional herbs. 29 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 This similarity in compounds with sometimes identical structures found in both insects and plants was first discovered over 50 years ago, such as cis ‐zingiberenol identified in both Zingiber officinale (or ginger plant) and Oebalus poecilus (or rice stink bug), actinidine (iridoid) identified in honeysuckle and valerian as well as in the stick insect, and the cyanogenic glycoside linamarin found in cassava and Zygaena filipendulae (or burnet moth). 58 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 There are several theories for how this phenomenon came about, for example through convergent evolution to adapt to similar needs such as for defense and pollination/mating purposes, or through the sequestration of phytocompounds by insects through ingestion.…”

“…One of the compounds the BSF shares with plants is withaferin A, a well‐studied steroidal ester originally isolated from Withania somnifera (or winter cherry) with antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects. 29 , 95 , 105 , 106 Based on these bioproperties of withaferin A, it may be responsible for the antioxidant capacity of the BSF, and it can be hypothesized that the compound could act as a UV protective agent. Withaferin A may even double as a remedy for acne, due to its reported potent antibacterial activity after isolation from W. somnifera , against P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and drug‐resistant clinical isolates of E. coli and E. aerogenes , but of course, tests must be done on the compound's inhibitory actions against the relevant strains.…”

A Review of Sustainable Pillars and their Fulfillment in Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Aquaponic Production

“…Even though nitrogen is a vital nutrient in agricultural food production, the nitrogen concentration from aquacultural food production, as seen in pond sludge and wastewater discharge, has damaging effects on the local ecosystems; therefore, more sustainable aquacultural production practices and nitrogen-efficient usage are required [146]. One method to reduce aquaculture sludge waste's environmental impact involves using black soldier fly larvae and biologically transforming the sludge waste, which is cost-efficient and easy to handle in comparison with traditional waste-reducing technologies [148].…”