Insects as a source of phenolic compounds and potential health benefits
Open Access
- 19 October 2021
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Brill in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed
- Vol. 7 (7), 1077-1087
- https://doi.org/10.3920/jiff2020.0113
Abstract
The use of insects in traditional medicine and unveiling the chemical structure of the bright pigments in butterfly wings led to the discovery of bioactive phenolic compounds in the insect bodies. These metabolites have been found not only due to the insect absorption and metabolisation of the plant-derived phenolic present in their diet, but also from the ability of insects to synthesise phenolic compounds de novo through the sclerotisation process. Plant phenolics are secondary metabolites involved in the protection of tissues against UV radiation, herbivores, and pathogens, as well as pigmentation of fruits and flowers. These bioactive compounds exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities, demonstrated through in vitro and in vivo studies. This bioactive potential is thought to occur due to their chemical characteristics that allow them to stabilise reactive oxygen species (ROS), chelate prooxidant metal ions, interact with key enzymes and signal cascades involved in biological pathways. Bioactivity of plant phenolics and both in vitro, in vivo studies, suggest that the dietary compounds absorbed by the insect maintain their chemical and bioactive properties. Further characterisation of the phenolic composition in edible insects and evaluation of their bioactive capacity as well as their bioavailability, could result in discovering additional health benefits of entomophagy apart from macro-nutritional (e.g. protein) content.Keywords
This publication has 69 references indexed in Scilit:
- Advantages and limitations of common testing methods for antioxidantsFree Radical Research, 2015
- The Role of Phenolic Compounds in the Fight against Cancer – A ReviewAnti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 2013
- Phenolic compounds: from plants to foodsPhytochemistry Reviews, 2012
- Insect cuticular sclerotization: A reviewInsect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2010
- Aspects of cuticular sclerotization in the locust, Scistocerca gregaria, and the beetle, Tenebrio molitorInsect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2007
- Flavonoid sequestration by the common blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus: quantitative intraspecific variation in relation to larval hostplant, sex and body sizeBiochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2001
- Flavonoid wing pigments increase attractiveness of female common blue ( Polyommatus icarus ) butterflies to mate-searching malesThe Science of Nature, 2000
- THE EFFECTS OF TWO NEW ANTAGONISTS OF SECRETORY PLA2 ON TNF, iNOS, AND COX-2 EXPRESSION IN ACTIVATED MACROPHAGESShock, 1999
- Uptake of flavonoids from Vicia villosa (Fabaceae) by the lycaenid butterfly, Polyommatus icarus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 1997
- Sclerotization of insect cuticle—III. An unsaturated derivative of and its role in sclerotizationInsect Biochemistry, 1982