• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.265-275
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• 2020

In this study, we analyzed the nutritional ingredients of drone pupae (16^th to 20^th instar old) to evaluate the value of bee products and provide basic data for product diversification, and the extracts prepared using these pupae were tested for physiological activity. According to the analysis of the general ingredients of the freeze-dried powder of these bee pupae, the moisture, crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash was 1.69 ± 0.07%, 48.52 ± 0.20%, 23.41 ± 0.14%, and 4.05 ± 0.02%, respectively. Vitamin C and vitamin E were 14.92 ± 0.52 mg/100 g and 6.06 ± 0.11 mg α-TE/100 g, respectively. Regarding minerals, the highest content of K (1349.13 ± 34.57 mg/100 g) and P (1323.55 ± 43.85 mg/100 g) was observed and Ca and Fe were 55.43 ± 1.51 mg/100 g and 5.49 ± 0.19 mg/100 g, respectively. The fatty acids of the water extracted freeze-dried pupae powder accounted for approximately 59.62 of saturated fatty acids and 40.38 of unsaturated fatty acids, and high-quality fatty acids such as palmitic acid (C16:0) was 35.49 ± 0.08 and oleic acid (C18:1, n-9) was 35.91 ± 0.22 (g/100 g total fatty acids). The total amino acid content was 38.99 ± 2.63 g/100 g and the free amino acid was a total of 5129.04 mg/100 g, of which 1257.68 mg/100 g was proline and 759.12 mg/100 g glutamic acid. The DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity of the drone pupae extract showed values of 0.8 for distilled water extract, 3.2 for 50% EtOH extract, 6.4 for 70% EtOH extract, and approximately 90% for 32 ㎍/mL for 100% EtOH extract. These results suggest that the main compound contributing to the antioxidant activity is a polar compound, and it is highly likely to be a low-molecular protein or a free amino acid. In conclusion, the honey bee drone pupa is excellent as a food resource and can be utilized as a new functional material for food and functional food.