Garrido-Ortiz Eduardo R, Morales-Camacho Jocksan I
Department of Chemical, Food and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, San Andrés Cholula 72810, Puebla, Mexico.
Foods. 2025 Jun 17;14(12):2124. doi: 10.3390/foods14122124.
The search for sustainable and health-promoting food sources has increased interest in edible insects, which are rich in proteins and bioactive compounds with potential nutraceutical applications. In this study, we evaluated the bioactive properties of protein hydrolysates derived from (maguey white worm, WW) and (maguey red worm, RW), two culturally and economically significant insect species in Mexico. Hydrolysates were obtained via enzymatic treatments: either single hydrolysis with pepsin (PH) or sequential hydrolysis with pepsin followed by trypsin (PTH). The PTH hydrolysates exhibited strong antioxidant activity, with 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical inhibition above 90% and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity between 75-85%. Additionally, they showed significant angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, reaching IC values of 0.35 and 0.017 μg/mL for WWPH and RWPH, respectively-the latter outperforming the commercial drug Enalapril (IC = 0.11 μg/mL). SDS-PAGE analysis revealed low molecular weight peptides (<10 kDa), especially between 5-9 kDa, associated with enhanced bioactivity. Peptides from RW also showed low Hill coefficients, suggesting a gradual and sustained interaction with ACE. These findings support the use of insect-derived hydrolysates as promising multifunctional ingredients for the development of functional foods targeting cardiovascular health.
对可持续且促进健康的食物来源的探索，增加了人们对可食用昆虫的兴趣，这类昆虫富含蛋白质和具有潜在营养保健应用价值的生物活性化合物。在本研究中，我们评估了源自墨西哥两种具有文化和经济意义的昆虫物种，即龙舌兰白虫（WW）和龙舌兰红虫（RW）的蛋白质水解产物的生物活性特性。水解产物通过酶处理获得：要么用胃蛋白酶进行单次水解（PH），要么先用胃蛋白酶然后用胰蛋白酶进行顺序水解（PTH）。PTH水解产物表现出强大的抗氧化活性，2,2-联氮-双-（3-乙基苯并噻唑啉-6-磺酸）（ABTS）自由基抑制率高于90%，2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼（DPPH）自由基清除能力在75%-85%之间。此外，它们还表现出显著的血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）抑制活性，WWPH和RWPH的IC值分别达到0.35和0.017 μg/mL，后者优于商业药物依那普利（IC = 0.11 μg/mL）。SDS-PAGE分析揭示了低分子量肽（<10 kDa），尤其是5-9 kDa之间的肽，与增强的生物活性相关。来自RW的肽还显示出低希尔系数，表明与ACE存在逐渐且持续的相互作用。这些发现支持将昆虫来源的水解产物用作有前景的多功能成分，用于开发针对心血管健康的功能性食品。
