• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.521-540
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• 2019

This review summarizes the current trends related to insect as food resources among consumers, industry, and academia. In Western societies, edible insects have a greater potential as animal feed than as human food because of cultural biases associated with harmful insects, although the abundant characteristics of edible insects should benefit human health. Nevertheless, many countries in Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America utilize insects as a major protein source. Using insects can potentially solve problems related to the conventional food-supply chain, including global water, land, and energy deficits. Academic, industry, and government-led efforts have attempted to reduce negative perceptions of insects through developing palatable processing methods, as well as providing descriptions of health benefits and explaining the necessity of reducing reliance on other food sources. Our overview reveals that entomophagy is experiencing a steady increase worldwide, despite its unfamiliarity to the consumers influenced by Western eating habits.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.563-568
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• 2018

The insect industry is a promising agricultural resource and expected to grow steadily. In Korea, Gryllus bimaculatus and the larvae of Tenebrio molior, Protaetia brevitarsis, and Allomyrina dichotoma were listed as general food ingredients. As interest in these edible insects increases, rearing techniques and nutritious food sources are needed for mass production. In this study, wheat bran, dog feed, and pig feed were investigated for their effects on the larval growth of P. brevitarsis and A. dichotoma. When fermented sawdust with 30% wheat bran was used, the larval survival rate of P. brevitarsis and A. dichotoma (p=0.244341 and p=0.007966, respectively) and growth rate (p=0.001400 and p=0.000051, respectively) were significantly lower than those of the control (fermented sawdust with no supplement). Therefore, fermented sawdust with a high density of wheat bran was inappropriate for both insects. When fed fermented sawdust with 2.5 or 5% of dog and pig feed, the survival rate and growth rate of the larvae were higher than those of the control. Interestingly, the maximum larval weight with 2.5% dog feed was increased by $3.35{\pm}0.10g$ and $32.59{\pm}0.79g$ for P. brevitarsis and A. dichotoma, respectively. In addition, the larval period of both was shorter than that of the control by 40 days or more. Therefore, it is considered that animal feed can be used as a feed source for these edible insects.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.996-1001
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• 2019

Edible insects are reported to be rich in protein, minerals and vitamins, and much attention has been paid to them as a future food source. In Korea, they were massively reared and sold. In order to enhance the market value of edible insects for industrialized mass production, it is important to develop the safe and nutritious feed sources for rearing them are needed. In this study, a chlorella-free control feed (Exp1) and six experimental feeds supplemented with 0.5~2.0% liquid or powder types of chlorella were formulated. Protaetia brevitarsis and Allomyrina dichotoma, registered as food ingredients in Korea, were fed with the designed feeds and parameters of growth including larval survivorship, larval body weight, and larval period were analyzed. When chlorella added, larval survivorship was increased 2~13%(p>0.05) and 9~22%(p<0.05) in each beetle compared to the control. Interestingly, the larval period of chlorella powder-added groups was shortened by 24 days (Exp3, p<0.05) in P. brevitarsis and 19 days (Exp4, p<0.01) in A. dichotoma. Meanwhile, some parameters, crude protein, crude fiber, copper, zinc, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorous, in chlorella-added groups of P. brevitarsis were also higher than the control group. Therefore, chlorella could promote the larval growth performance of these two beetles and be used as a feed additive in rearing them.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1150-1169
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• 2023

Edible insects are gaining popularity as a potential future food source because of their high protein content and efficient use of space. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are noteworthy because they can be used as feed for various animals including reptiles, dogs, fish, chickens, and pigs. However, if the edible insect industry is to advance, we should use automation to reduce labor and increase production. Consequently, there is a growing demand for sensing technologies that can automate the evaluation of insect quality. This study used short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging to predict the proximate composition of dried BSFL, including moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and crude ash content. The larvae were dried at various temperatures and times, and images were captured using an SWIR camera. A partial least-squares regression (PLSR) model was developed to predict the proximate content. The SWIR-based hyperspectral camera accurately predicted the proximate composition of BSFL from the best preprocessing model; moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and crude ash content were predicted with high accuracy, with R² values of 0.89 or more, and root mean square error of prediction values were within 2%. Among preprocessing methods, mean normalization and max normalization methods were effective in proximate prediction models. Therefore, SWIR-based hyperspectral cameras can be used to create automated quality management systems for BSFL.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1031-1043
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional properties of salt-soluble proteins obtained from Protaetia brevitarsis (PB) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae, the interaction between these proteins and pork myofibrillar protein (MP) in a gel system. The gel properties of salt-soluble protein extracts showed that the PB had a higher viscosity than the TM protein. However, the TM protein had higher gel strength compared with the PB protein. The gelation characteristics of the pork MP gel systems added with lyophilized insect salt-soluble protein powder showed to decrease slightly viscosity compared with MP alone. Adding the TM or PB protein powder did not affect the pork MP's hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group levels. Furthermore, the protein bands of the MP did not change with the type or amount of insect salt-soluble protein. The cooking yields of the pork MP gels containing PB or TM protein powder were higher than those without insect protein. Regardless of the type of insect salt-soluble protein added, the pork MP's gel strength decreased. Furthermore, as the level of insect powder increased, the surface protein structure became rough and porous. The results demonstrated that proteins extracted from PB and TM larvae interfered with the gelation of pork MP in a gel system.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.955-961
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• 2017

Edible insects are attracting growing interest as a sustainable source of protein for addition to processed meat and dairy products. The current study investigated the optimal method for protein extraction from mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor), cricket adults (Gryllus bimaculatus), and silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori), for use in further applications. After defatting with n-hexane for up to 48 h, sonication was applied for 1-20 min and the protein yield was measured. All samples showed a total residual fat percentage below 1.36%, and a 35% to 94% improvement in protein yield (%). In conclusion, defatting with n-hexane combined with sonication improves the protein yield from insect samples.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.297-307
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to develop a seasoning paste fermented by Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus subtilis using three edible insects: Tenebrio molitor larvae, Gryllus bimaculatus, and Bombyx mori pupa. No significant changes in pH and titratable acidity were observed between the insect pastes and soybean control during a 5-week fermentation process. The amino nitrogen was 0.35-0.50% (w/w) in the early stage of the fermentation and increased to 0.72-0.78%. The total nitrogen was 2.36-3.62% (w/w) in the early stage and was preserved during the fermentation period. Free amino acids of the insect pastes were similar to those in soybean paste. In general, the fermented insect pastes showed a lower flavor and color than soybean paste but B. mori pupa-fermented paste did not show any significant difference in preference from soybean. Glutamate, aspartate, lysine, phenylalanine, arginine, and serine were found to affect taste preference. It was possible to ferment edible insect protein to produce a fermented seasoning paste like Korean doenjang.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.817-831
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• 2024

In this study, physicochemical and antioxidant properties, and storage stability (1, 3, and 7 days) of pork patties added with edible insect powders (EIP) of four species (Larvae of Tenenbrio molitor, Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis, Allomyrina dichotoma, and Gryllus bimaculatus) as meat partial substitutes were investigated. Twenty percent of each EIP was added to pork patties, and four treatments were prepared. On the other hand, two control groups were set, one with 0.1 g of ascorbic acid and the other without anything. Adding EIP decreased water content but increased protein, fat, carbohydrate, and ash contents. In addition, the use of EIP increased the water holding capacity and texture properties as well as decreased the cooking loss. However, the sensory evaluation and storage stability were negatively affected by the addition of EIP. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity had a positive effect on storage stability. It is believed that the addition of EIP resulted in high antioxidants due to the presence of polyphenol compounds in EIP. These results indicate that EIP has great potential to be used as meat partial substitute to improve the quality improvement and antioxidant in pork patties. However, in order to improve storage stability and consumer preference, further research is needed to apply it to patties by reducing the amount of EIP or adding auxiliary ingredients.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.813-830
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• 2020

In this study, the potential of infrared assisted freeze-drying (IRAFD) was tested for the production of shelf-stable edible insects: Protaetia brevitarsis larva (larva of white-spotted flower chafer). The IRAFD system was customized using an infrared lamp, K-type thermocouple, controller, and data acquisition system. The infrared lamp provided the sublimation energy for rapid freeze-drying (FD). The IRAFD conditions were continuous IRAFD-5.0 kW/㎡ and IRAFD-5.0 kW/㎡ at different weight reduction (WR) (10%, 20%, and 30%). The continuous IRAFD reduced the drying time to 247 min compared to the 2,833 min duration of FD (p<0.05). The electrical energy could be reduced by more than 90% through infrared radiation during FD (p<0.05). The Page model resulted in the best prediction among the tested drying kinetic models. In terms of quality, IRAFD showed significantly lower hardness, chewiness, and higher protein levels than hot air drying and FD (p<0.05). IRAFD better preserved the glutamic acid (6.30-7.29 g/100 g) and proline (3.84-5.54 g/100 g). The external product appearance after IRAFD exhibited more air pockets and volume expansion, which might result in a good consumer appeal. In conclusion, this study reports the potential of IRAFD in producing shelf-stable and value-added edible insects.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.139-143
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• 2020

A survey was conducted among pet owners visiting pet hospitals, using a pet animal app, or being involved in pet breeding, who had the awareness of and intention to purchase animal feed containing edible insects, as well as functional pet food. Results showed that 89.5% of survey participants were pet owners such as those of dogs, cats etc., of whom 55.6% knew about this type of pet food. Nearly half (48.5%) of respondents had an intention to purchase edible insect-based pet food, while the rest of them (51.5%) did not. The two main reasons for deciding to buy it were the excellent nutritional value of insects, and low allergenicity. The most significant reason for refusing purchase was a strong aversion to insects as food.