Soybean is a major plant protein source, containing bioactive components and having high nutritional value. Mealworm (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i>) larvae are edible insects and considered as a sustainable animal protein resource. To investigate the functional enhancement of fermented and non-fermented soy foods combined with mealworm, we produced a savory low-salt soy sauce fermented with okara (soy pulp) and defatted mealworm (LSOT), and muscle enhanced tofu (S) prepared with either whole mealworm (SM) or mealworm protein hydrolysate (SMPH). Okara reduced the salinity of LSOT from 13.33 to 10.24% during 30 days of fermentation and produced GABA, which is known to have an antihypertensive effect. Mealworm significantly increased the overall low-salt soy sauce quality, such as improved total acidity, total and amino-type nitrogen, protease activity (from 194 to 352.21 Units/g), and amino acid content, especially glutamic acid (regular soy sauce: 2988 mg/L, LSOT: 4885 mg/L), which influences the soy sauce flavor. Furthermore, LSOT had higher antioxidant and ACE-inhibitory activities than regular soy sauce. Concerning mealworm added tofu, the ileal digestibility of tofu was improved with mealworm addition in vitro: SMPH (94.10%), SM (64.61%), and S (58.35%). Tofu combined with mealworm exhibited higher total phenolic content (SMPH: 22.66, SM: 13.78, S: 8.27 mg GAE/g) and lower IC50 value for ABTS radical scavenging (SMPH: 1.56, SM: 5.00, S: 7.00 mg/mL) than regular tofu. SMPH resulted in the lowest TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1b cytokine expression (1.72, 1.21, and 0.96 pmol/mL, respectively) among all tofu samples. Moreover, SMPH and SM significantly decreased the relative myostatin (a muscle reduction marker) mRNA expression by 83% and 86%, respectively, compared with S (60%). Therefore, our findings suggested that combining mealworm with soy products could improve their functionality compared with traditional products. Moreover, mealworm could be a potential food ingredient in other soybean products, thereby providing health benefits.

Enhancement of functionality in soy foods comprising mealworm (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i>) larvae

ACS Fall 2021

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Enhancement of functionality in soy foods comprising mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae