Edible insects as additional food and/or feed source may represent one important component to solve the problem of food security for a growing human population. Especially for covering the rising demand for protein of animal origin, seven insect species currently allowed as feed constituents in the European Union are gaining more interest. However, before considering insects such as yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) as suitable for, e.g. human consumption, the possible presence and accumulation of contaminants must be elucidated. The present work investigates the effects of the mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) and its metabolites on insect larvae. Seven different diets were prepared: toxin-free control, spiked and artificially contaminated (both containing approx.500 μg/kg and approx. 2000 μg/kg of ZEN) as well as two naturally contaminated diets (600 μg/kg and 900 μg/kg ZEN). The diets were used in a multiple-week feeding trial using T. molitor larvae as model insects. The amount of ZEN and its metabolites in the feed, larvae and the residue were measured by HPLC-MS/MS. A significantly enhanced individual larval weight was found for the insects fed on the naturally contaminated diets compared to the other feeding groups after 8 weeks of exposure. No ZEN or ZEN metabolites were detected in the T. molitor larvae after harvest. However, ZEN, α- and β-stereoisomers of zearalenol were found in the residue samples indicating an intense metabolism of ZEN in the larvae. No further ZEN metabolites could be detected in any sample. Thus, ZEN is not retained to any significant amount in T. molitor larvae.

中文翻译：

---

黄粉虫（Tenebrio molitor）幼虫中霉菌毒素玉米赤霉烯酮的摄食研究-生物学影响和代谢转化研究。

食用昆虫作为额外的食物和/或饲料来源可能是解决日益增长的人口粮食安全问题的一个重要组成部分。特别是为了满足对动物来源蛋白质的不断增长的需求，目前欧盟允许作为饲料成分的7种昆虫越来越引起人们的关注。但是，在考虑使用诸如黄粉虫幼虫（黄粉虫）的昆虫之前）适合于例如人类食用，必须阐明污染物的可能存在和积累。本工作调查了真菌毒素玉米赤霉烯酮（ZEN）及其代谢产物对昆虫幼虫的影响。准备了七种不同的饮食：无毒对照，加标和人工污染（均含约500μg/ kg和约2000μg/ kg的ZEN）以及两种自然污染的饮食（600μg/ kg和900μg/公斤ZEN）。日粮在使用T. molitor的多周喂养试验中使用幼虫为模型昆虫。通过HPLC-MS / MS测量饲料，幼虫和残留物中ZEN及其代谢产物的量。与其他喂养组相比，暴露于自然污染饮食下的昆虫在接触8周后的个体幼虫体重明显增加。收获后在黄粉虫幼虫中未检测到ZEN或ZEN代谢物。然而，在残留样品中发现了玉米赤霉烯醇的ZEN，α-和β-立体异构体，表明ZEN在幼虫中强烈代谢。在任何样品中均未检测到其他ZEN代谢物。因此，在EN虫的幼虫中，ZEN的含量不高。