Insect proteins have been proposed as a promising alternative for feed and food formulations. In the present work protease-assisted extraction was studied as a way to separate and extract proteins from two different insect species: Alphitobius diaperinus (AD) and Hermetia illucens (HI). The proteolytic activity of seven enzymes (papain, pancreatin, dispase I, pepsin, protease from Bacillus licheniformis, bromelain and trypsin) was evaluated determining the protein extraction yield, the degree of hydrolysis (DH) and the released free amino acids (FAA). Both insects represent an interesting source of proteins, not only for their amount (more than 40% on dry matter) but also for the nutritional value, with essential amino acid profile exceeding the requirements proposed for human nutrition. Enzyme-assisted protein extraction, performed at laboratory scale, gave for HI an average yield of extraction of 71±8% and for AD 67±6%. Hydrolysates produced from HI gave a DH% ranging between 3 to 18%, whereas hydrolysates produced from AD yielded a DH% between 7 to 23%. The protein hydrolysates were composed by peptides and FAA (which accounted for more than 30% of the extracted protein fraction), which were released according to their abundance in initial protein. A moderate correlation between the DH% and the total amount of FAA was found, except for AD hydrolysed with trypsin and HI with papain. Based on these results, the production of hydrolysates was preliminary scaled up in a proof-of-concept experiment, focusing on the most promising insect-enzyme combination. The final product resulted to be rich in protein (60% on dry matter). This work support enzymatic hydrolysis as an effective method to extract and isolate proteins from insects, with minimal sample preparation, tailoring their composition, preserving the nutritional quality, decreasing the risk of allergic reactions and making them more accessible for their future use as feed/food supplements.

中文翻译：

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用商业蛋白酶处理过的海藻Alphatobius diaperinus和Hermetia illucens幼虫的蛋白水解物

昆虫蛋白已被提议作为饲料和食品配方的有前途的替代品。在当前的工作中，蛋白酶辅助提取被研究为从两种不同的昆虫物种中分离和提取蛋白质的方法：双歧杆菌（Alphitobius diaperinus（AD）和Hermetia illucens（HI））。地衣芽孢杆菌中的七种酶（木瓜蛋白酶，胰酶，分散酶I，胃蛋白酶，蛋白酶）的蛋白水解活性（菠萝蛋白酶和胰蛋白酶）进行了评估，以确定蛋白质的提取率，水解度（DH）和释放的游离氨基酸（FAA）。两种昆虫都代表着一种有趣的蛋白质来源，不仅是蛋白质的含量（占干物质的40％以上），而且还具有营养价值，其必需氨基酸特征超过了人体营养要求。在实验室规模进行的酶辅助蛋白质提取，对HI的平均提取率为71±8％，对AD的平均提取率为67±6％。由HI产生的水解产物产生的DH％为3至18％，而由AD产生的水解产物产生的DH％为7至23％。蛋白质水解物由肽和FAA组成（占提取的蛋白质部分的30％以上），根据它们在初始蛋白质中的丰度释放它们。除了用胰蛋白酶水解的AD和用木瓜蛋白酶水解的HI外，发现DH％与FAA总量之间存在适度的相关性。基于这些结果，在概念验证实验中初步扩大了水解产物的生产，重点是最有希望的昆虫-酶组合。最终产品富含蛋白质（以干物质计占60％）。这项工作支持酶促水解作为从昆虫中提取和分离蛋白质的有效方法，只需最少的样品制备，调整其组成，保持营养质量，降低过敏反应的风险并使它们更易于将来用作饲料/食品补品。除了用胰蛋白酶水解的AD和用木瓜蛋白酶水解的HI。基于这些结果，在概念验证实验中初步扩大了水解产物的生产，重点是最有前途的昆虫-酶组合。最终产品富含蛋白质（以干物质计占60％）。这项工作支持酶促水解作为从昆虫中提取和分离蛋白质的有效方法，只需最少的样品制备，调整其组成，保持营养质量，降低过敏反应的风险并使它们更易于将来用作饲料/食品补品。除了用胰蛋白酶水解的AD和用木瓜蛋白酶水解的HI。基于这些结果，在概念验证实验中初步扩大了水解产物的生产，重点是最有前途的昆虫-酶组合。最终产品富含蛋白质（以干物质计占60％）。这项工作支持酶促水解作为从昆虫中提取和分离蛋白质的有效方法，只需最少的样品制备，调整其组成，保持营养质量，降低过敏反应的风险并使它们更易于将来用作饲料/食品补品。最终产品富含蛋白质（以干物质计占60％）。这项工作支持酶促水解作为从昆虫中提取和分离蛋白质的有效方法，只需最少的样品制备，调整其组成，保持营养质量，降低过敏反应的风险并使它们更易于将来用作饲料/食品补品。最终产品富含蛋白质（以干物质计占60％）。这项工作支持酶促水解作为从昆虫中提取和分离蛋白质的有效方法，只需最少的样品制备，调整其组成，保持营养质量，降低过敏反应的风险并使它们更易于将来用作饲料/食品补品。