Araujo L., Dias B., Salgado J.M., Lopes M., Belo I., 2025, Boosting Insect Meal Application in Food by Bioprocessing with Yeasts, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 118, 229-234.
The growing global demand for protein-rich foods requires sustainable alternatives to the conventional animal-based protein systems. In this sense, insect-based proteins, especially from Tenebrio molitor, present a promising nutrient-rich solution with a reduced ecological footprint. Nonetheless, insect meal is composed of chitin and complex proteins, limiting their digestibility. This study aimed to enhance the nutritional quality of insect meal through solid-state fermentation (SSF) using selected proteolytic strains of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. Optimal SSF conditions for protease production were obtained using a Box-Behnken design and a quadratic model. These conditions were applied in SSF with insect frass and insect meal of Tenebrio molitor larvae. SSF with Y. lipolytica and its protease application on ISM improved protein solubilization, thus increasing bioavailability.
