Chemical composition and volatile profiles of edible insect oils and meat-based broths

Abstract

The growing demand for sustainable food ingredients has led to increased interest in the utilization of edible insects as alternative food sources. In this study, oils were extracted from four edible insect species: Tenebrio molitor larvae, Gryllus bimaculatus, Locusta migratoria, and Zophobas atratus larvae, using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). Extraction conditions for SFE were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM), with optimal yield achieved at 400 bar, 55 °C, and a 3-hour extraction time. The extracted oils exhibited favorable nutritional characteristics, including high polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratios and low atherogenic and thrombogenic indices. Volatile compounds were extracted using headspace solid-phase microextraction arrow (HS-SPME-Arrow) and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Oils obtained via SFE showed significantly higher total volatile content compared to those from UAE (p < 0.05), and several compounds previously associated with favorable volatile notes were identified. These findings suggest that edible insect oils have strong potential as high-quality lipid ingredients with nutritional benefits and distinctive volatile profiles. The volatile composition of meat-based broths was also characterized to support the development of processed food products. Three SPME-Arrow fibers were compared based on peak area, with divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fiber showing the highest extraction efficiency (p < 0.05). Extraction parameters were optimized using RSM, resulting in 20 min equilibration, 30 min extraction, and an extraction temperature of 40 °C. A total of 18 volatile compounds were identified using HS-SPME-Arrow-GC/MS, with aldehydes representing the most abundant class. Eleven key volatiles, including hexanal, octanal, heptanal, nonanal, and decanal, were selected based on variable importance in projection (VIP) scores greater than 1. Comparative analysis with beef flavoring ingredients revealed shared compounds contributing to fatty notes, while distinctive compounds such as pyrazines and methional, known for roasted notes, were detected exclusively in the flavoring samples. These results provide valuable insights into enhancing the volatile characteristics of Korean-style home meal replacement products through targeted compound profiling.