Lighter serum copper isotopic composition in patients with early non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective The occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is globally increasing. To challenge the current incidence of NAFLD, non-invasive markers that could identify patients at risk or monitor disease progression are an important need. Copper intake and organ copper concentrations have earlier been linked to NAFLD progression, but serum copper does not adequately represent the disease state. Cu atoms occur under the form of two stable isotopes, Cu-63 and Cu-65, and the ratio of both (expressed as delta Cu-65, in parts per thousand) in blood serum has been shown to be altered in chronic liver disease. To assess whether the Cu isotope ratio might predict disease occurrence and progression of NAFLD, the serum Cu isotopic composition of patients with different stages of NAFLD was determined. Results Our results showed that serum delta Cu-65 values were lower in NAFLD patients, already at the level of simple steatosis, and remained stable during further disease progression. ROC analysis shows an almost perfect diagnostic ability of serum delta Cu-65 values for NAFLD, but no discrimination between different severity degrees could be made. Therefore, the serum Cu isotopic composition might show potential for early diagnosis of NAFLD patients

Industrial microwave drying of yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor): impact on moisture content, water activity and microbial load

status: publishe

Marination of yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) in soy sauce and wine to improve shelf life

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Suitability of microwave drying for mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) as alternative to freeze drying: impact on nutritional quality and colour

Freeze drying represents the current practice to stabilize mealworms, even though it is an energy demanding technique. Therefore, it was examined in the present study whether microwave drying could be a proper alternative. To this end, the impact of both drying techniques on the proximate composition, vitamin B12 content, fatty acid profile, oxidation status and colour parameters of mealworms was investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the application of vacuum during microwave drying was studied. The different drying technologies resulted in small differences in the proximate composition, while the vitamin B12 content was only reduced by microwave drying. The fat fraction of freeze dried mealworms showed a higher oxidation status than the fat of microwave dried mealworms. Application of a vacuum during the microwave drying process did not appear to offer advantages. This research shows that for mealworms microwave drying can be a proper alternative to freeze drying.status: publishe

Processing of mealworms into paste at pilot scale and fermentation of the paste at laboratory scale

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Stability assessment and laboratory scale fermentation of pastes produced on a pilot scale from mealworms (Tenebrio molitor)

European consumers generally still have a reluctant attitude towards the consumption of insects. One strategy to trigger the willingness to consume edible insects is to process them invisibly in familiar foodstuffs. To facilitate this, insects need to be processed to intermediates that can be incorporated readily in products by the food industry. To this end, a mealworm paste that was free of tastable exoskeleton particles was manufactured successfully using industrial equipment. Of this novel intermediate the proximate and fatty acid composition, moisture content, water activity, pH, viscosity, peroxide and p-anisidine values and colour was analysed. Next, the impact of storage temperature (4 °C and −21 °C) and presence of preservatives (sodium nitrite and sodium lactate) on the chemical and microbial stability of the paste were evaluated, as well as its fermentability to assess the most suited preservation strategy. During storage at −21 °C, all tested parameters remained constant for three months, except for some fat oxidation. At 4 °C, substantial microbial growth was observed during three weeks of storage, regardless of the use of preservatives. Finally, the paste was also shown to be suited for fermentation. Future research should assess whether fermentation can extend the storage time and/or improve the product quality.status: publishe