title: Nitrogen-to-Protein Conversion Factors for Three Edible Insects: Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus, and Hermetia illucens.
abstract: Insects are considered a nutritionally valuable source of alternative proteins, and their efficient protein extraction is a prerequisite for large-scale use. The protein content is usually calculated from total nitrogen using the nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor (Kp) of 6.25. This factor overestimates the protein content, due to the presence of nonprotein nitrogen in insects. In this paper, a specific Kp of 4.76 ± 0.09 was calculated for larvae from Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus, and Hermetia illucens, using amino acid analysis. After protein extraction and purification, a Kp factor of 5.60 ± 0.39 was found for the larvae of three insect species studied. We propose to adopt these Kp values for determining protein content of insects to avoid overestimation of the protein content.
authors.affiliation: Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Renske H
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9952-8045
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vincken
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lambertus A M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4374-5753
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: van den Broek
authors.affiliation: Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fogliano
authors.affiliation: Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University and Research , P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Catriona M M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lakemond
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004175:Diptera / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013712:Tenebrio / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Alphitobius diaperinus; Hermetia illucens; Tenebrio molitor; amino acids; black soldier fly; edible insects; lesser mealworm; nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor (Kp); protein extraction; yellow mealworm