Physicochemical Characterization of Edible Insect Oils: Insights into Fatty Acid Composition, Thermal Behavior and Quality Parameters

Abstract

Edible insects are emerging as a sustainable food source due to their high nutritional value. This study employed the three-phase partitioning (TPP) method to extract oils from sago worm ( Rhynchophorus ferrugineus ), superworm ( Zophobas morio ), and cricket ( Gryllus campestris ). The study evaluated and compared the physicochemical properties of these insect oils, including iodine value (IV), peroxide value (PV), p -anisidine value (p-AV), acid value (AV), refractive index (RI), thermal behavior, and fatty acid compositions. Results revealed that the sago worm exhibited the highest oil yield (47.8 ± 2.2%) compared to the superworm (23.8 ± 1.4%) and cricket (6.4 ± 0.6%). Cricket oil (CO) displayed the highest IV (85.62 ± 0.35 g/100 g), PV (50.50 ± 1.10 mEq/kg), and p-AV (4.66 ± 0.45), while AV and RI were the highest in sago worm oil (SWO) (8.23 ± 0.09 mg KOH/g) and superworm oil (SO) (1.4655 ± 0.00), respectively. The melting and crystallization pro fi les of these insect oils varied. Palmitic acid (C16:0) was the predominant fatty acid in all insect oils. CO exhibited the highest content of unsaturated fatty acids (51%), followed by SO (42%) and SWO (39%). This study highlights the potential applications of insect oils in various industries.