标题:Proximate, Physicochemical, Techno-Functional and Antioxidant Properties of Three Edible Insect ( Gonimbrasia belina, Hermetia illucens and Macrotermes subhylanus) Flours
摘要:In this study, edible insect flours from
Gonimbrasia belina (Mashonzha),
Hermetia illucens (black soldier fly larvae) and
Macrotermes subhylanus (Madzhulu) were prepared and assessed in terms of proximal, physicochemical, techno-functional and antioxidant properties. The crude protein of the edible insect flours varied between 34.90–52.74%. The crude fat of the insect flours differed significantly (
p < 0.05), with
H. illucens (27.93%) having the highest crude fat.
G. belina was lighter (L*) and yellower (+b*) compared to
H. illucens and
M. subhylanus, and there was no significant difference (
p > 0.05) in the redness (+a*) of the edible insect flours. There were no significant differences (
p > 0.05) in foam capacity and foam stability of all three edible insect flours. Moreover, the antioxidant activity against the DPPH radical was low for
H. illucens (3.63%), with
M. subhylanus (55.37%) exhibiting the highest DPPH radical. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the techno-functional properties and antioxidant indices of the edible insect flours. PC1 accounted for 51.39% of the total variability, while component 2 accounted for 24.71%. In terms of PC1, the FS, OBC and FC were responsible for the major differences in the edible insect flours. The findings revealed that edible insect flours are a good source of antioxidants and can be used as an alternative protein source and a potential novel food additive due to their techno-functional qualities.