Mulder Patrick P J, Mueller-Maatsch Judith T L, Meijer Nathan, Bosch Marlou, Zoet Lisa, Van Der Fels-Klerx H J
Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Part of Wageningen University and Research, Akkermaalsbos 2, 6708 WB Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Ynsect NL (formerly Protifarm), Harderwijkerweg 141a, 3852 AB Ermelo, the Netherlands.
Heliyon. 2024 Feb 16;10(4):e26523. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26523. eCollection 2024 Feb 29.
In their natural habitat, insects may bioaccumulate toxins from plants for defence against predators. When insects are accidently raised on feed that is contaminated with toxins from co-harvested herbs, this may pose a health risk when used for human or animal consumption. Plant toxins of particular relevance are the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which are genotoxic carcinogens produced by a wide variety of plant species and the tropane alkaloids (TAs) which are produced by a number of Solanaceae species. This study aimed to investigate the transfer of these plant toxins from substrates to black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and lesser mealworm (LMW). PAs and the TAs atropine and scopolamine were added to insect substrate simulating the presence of different PA- or TA-containing herbs, and BSFL and LMW were grown on these substrates. Bioaccumulation from substrate to insects varied widely among the different plant toxins. Highest bioaccumulation was observed for the PAs europine, rinderine and echinatine. For most PAs and for atropine and scopolamine, bioaccumulation was very low. In the substrate, PA N-oxides were quickly converted to the corresponding tertiary amines. More research is needed to verify the findings of this study at larger scale, and to determine the potential role of the insect and/or substrate microbiome in metabolizing these toxins.
在自然栖息地中，昆虫可能会生物累积来自植物的毒素以抵御捕食者。当昆虫意外以被共同收获的草药中的毒素污染的饲料饲养时，用于人类或动物食用时可能会带来健康风险。特别相关的植物毒素是吡咯里西啶生物碱（PAs），它是由多种植物物种产生的具有基因毒性的致癌物，以及由一些茄科物种产生的托烷生物碱（TAs）。本研究旨在调查这些植物毒素从底物向黑水虻幼虫（BSFL）和黄粉虫（LMW）的转移情况。将PAs以及TAs阿托品和东莨菪碱添加到昆虫底物中，模拟存在不同含PA或TA的草药，然后在这些底物上饲养BSFL和LMW。不同植物毒素从底物到昆虫的生物累积差异很大。观察到欧洲千里光碱、林德碱和刺绿碱等PAs的生物累积量最高。对于大多数PAs以及阿托品和东莨菪碱，生物累积量非常低。在底物中，PA N-氧化物会迅速转化为相应的叔胺。需要更多研究来在更大规模上验证本研究的结果，并确定昆虫和/或底物微生物群落在代谢这些毒素中的潜在作用。
