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Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan
Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is a classic edible insect with high nutritional value for substituting meats from vertebrates. While interest in mealworms has increased, the determination of carbohydrate constituents of mealworms has been overlooked. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investi...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8002850/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33803569 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10030640 |
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author | Son, Yang-Ju Hwang, In-Kyeong Nho, Chu Won Kim, Sang Min Kim, Soo Hee |
author_facet | Son, Yang-Ju Hwang, In-Kyeong Nho, Chu Won Kim, Sang Min Kim, Soo Hee |
author_sort | Son, Yang-Ju |
collection | PubMed |
description | Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is a classic edible insect with high nutritional value for substituting meats from vertebrates. While interest in mealworms has increased, the determination of carbohydrate constituents of mealworms has been overlooked. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the carbohydrate content and composition of mealworms. In addition, the characteristics of mealworm chitin were determined as these were the major components of mealworm carbohydrate. The crude carbohydrate content of mealworms was 11.5%, but the total soluble sugar content was only 30% of the total carbohydrate content, and fructose was identified as the most abundant free sugar in mealworms. Chitin derivatives were the key components of mealworm carbohydrate with a yield of 4.7%. In the scanning electron microscopy images, a lamellar structure with α-chitin configuration was observed, and mealworm chitosan showed multiple pores on its surface. The overall physical characteristics of mealworm chitin and chitosan were similar to those of the commercial products derived from crustaceans. However, mealworm chitin showed a significantly softer texture than crustacean chitin with superior anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, mealworm chitin and chitosan could be employed as novel resources with unique advantages in industries. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8002850 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-80028502021-03-28 Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan Son, Yang-Ju Hwang, In-Kyeong Nho, Chu Won Kim, Sang Min Kim, Soo Hee Foods Article Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) is a classic edible insect with high nutritional value for substituting meats from vertebrates. While interest in mealworms has increased, the determination of carbohydrate constituents of mealworms has been overlooked. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the carbohydrate content and composition of mealworms. In addition, the characteristics of mealworm chitin were determined as these were the major components of mealworm carbohydrate. The crude carbohydrate content of mealworms was 11.5%, but the total soluble sugar content was only 30% of the total carbohydrate content, and fructose was identified as the most abundant free sugar in mealworms. Chitin derivatives were the key components of mealworm carbohydrate with a yield of 4.7%. In the scanning electron microscopy images, a lamellar structure with α-chitin configuration was observed, and mealworm chitosan showed multiple pores on its surface. The overall physical characteristics of mealworm chitin and chitosan were similar to those of the commercial products derived from crustaceans. However, mealworm chitin showed a significantly softer texture than crustacean chitin with superior anti-inflammatory effects. Hence, mealworm chitin and chitosan could be employed as novel resources with unique advantages in industries. MDPI 2021-03-18 /pmc/articles/PMC8002850/ /pubmed/33803569 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10030640 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ). |
spellingShingle | Article Son, Yang-Ju Hwang, In-Kyeong Nho, Chu Won Kim, Sang Min Kim, Soo Hee Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title | Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title_full | Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title_fullStr | Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title_full_unstemmed | Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title_short | Determination of Carbohydrate Composition in Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Larvae and Characterization of Mealworm Chitin and Chitosan |
title_sort | determination of carbohydrate composition in mealworm (tenebrio molitor l.) larvae and characterization of mealworm chitin and chitosan |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8002850/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33803569 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10030640 |
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