True Ileal Amino Acid Digestibility of Tenebrio Molitor Larvae in Women

Summary

Dietary protein intake of adequate quality is essential for human health. Traditional animal source foods play a key role in providing high quality protein but are associated with a high burden on the environment. Therefore, viable alternative protein sources are needed to be able to meet human nutritional needs for the rapidly increasing world population, while keeping food production within the planetary boundaries. T. molitor (Yellow Mealworm larvae) is a sustainably produced and commercially available edible insect, which contains a high quantity of protein with a favorable amino acid profile. Protein quality evaluation considers the amino acid composition as well as the ileal digestibility of the food's individual amino acids, to assess if human dietary requirements for essential amino acids can be met by the protein source. The present study will measure the digestibility of essential amino acids from T. molitor with a minimally invasive dual stable isotope tracer method that follows a plateau-fed test meal protocol. T. molitor will be intrinsically labelled with the stable isotope deuterium (2H), which will be given along with a reference amino acid mixture of known digestibility, labelled with the stable isotope carbon-13 (13C). Based on the results from the present study, protein quality of T. molitor as a protein source for human nutrition can be assessed, allowing a direct comparison of this novel protein source to other protein sources, such as meat and legumes.

Conditions

• Malnutrition; Protein

Interventions

OTHER

2H intrinsically-labeled T.molitor with 13-C labeled amino acid mixture

Test meal with dried 2H intrinsically labeled T.molitor and 13C labeled reference amino acid mixture will be divided into 10 portions, which will be given hourly over the course of 7 hours. The first consumption will be the priming meal, comprised of 3 portions and will additionally contain 13C sodium bicarbonate.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences

  collaborator OTHER

• Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

  collaborator OTHER

• St. John's Research Institute

  collaborator OTHER

• Wageningen University and Research

  collaborator OTHER

• Diego Moretti

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Diego Moretti, Prof. Dr. · Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-08-30

Primary Completion

2023-11-30

Completion

2024-04-16

Countries

• Switzerland

Study Locations