Microbial and insect oils: A sustainable approach to functional lipid

The increasing global population, coupled with the effects of climate change on agricultural activities has spurred a demand for sustainable food production to meet human needs. In response to this, there has been a growing interest in sustainable food production initiatives. One of such initiatives is harnessing microbial and insect lipids as valuable ingredients to address increase in demand for lipids across various sectors, including functional food, nutritional supplements, and biodiesel production. Over the last decades, there has been increasing scientific investigations exploring lipid from algae, microbes, and insects as alternatives to traditional agro- and marine-based sources. This review, therefore, presents progress made in microbial and insect oils production, with emphasis on sustainability. Emerging extraction techniques, regulatory and safety requirements, and challenges that exist in the production and utilization of these new lipids are also discussed. The review shows that lipids from a wide range of oleaginous microorganisms and insect species have the potential to serve as a valuable ingredient for healthful food preparation. However, challenges such as cultural acceptance, lack of standardized regulations, high cost, and low yield associated with most emerging environmentally friendly extraction technologies continue to hinder widespread use or adoption of microbial and insect lipids on a global scale. These challenges call for innovations to reduce cost of production and improve lipids yield. So far, a substantial progress has been made in the utilization of readily available feedstocks such as industrial food wastes and sugar-rich industrial wastewater to grow insects and microorganisms which will significantly reduce the processing costs.