Yang Ao, Chen Hongrui, Tian Haixin, An Jianhui, Shang Longchen, Tao Yexing, Deng Lingli
College of Biological and Food Engineering, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi 445000, China.
Foods. 2025 Aug 30;14(17):3063. doi: 10.3390/foods14173063.
Mealworm (, LINNAEUS, 1758) is a protein-rich edible insect. In this study, low-gluten wheat flour was formulated with mealworm protein powder at various concentrations (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) to investigate its influence on the pasting, farinographic, and extensographic properties of low-gluten wheat flour, as well as the changes in the overall quality of the resulting biscuits (soda crackers and cookies). The viscosity of the composite flour decreased with an increasing substitution level of mealworm protein powder, and the setback significantly decreased from 69.31 ± 0.16 RVU (M0) to 19.00 ± 0.71 RVU (M20), indicating enhanced resistance to starch retrogradation. Farinographic and extensographic analyses revealed that the addition of mealworm protein powder reduced dough water absorption, significantly prolonged dough development time and stability time, and enhanced overall dough stability. However, extensibility gradually decreased, with a further reduction observed as the proofing time increased. Concurrently, the baking expansion ratio and hardness of the biscuits decreased. Specifically, for soda crackers, the baking expansion ratio decreased from 198.96 ± 3.88% (M0) to 135.74 ± 1.28% (M20), and hardness dropped from 26.40 ± 1.53 N (M0) to 6.32 ± 0.08 N (M20). For cookies, the baking expansion ratio and hardness decreased from 93.77 ± 0.72% (M0) to 86.06 ± 1.08% (M20) and from 1.76 ± 0.06 N (M0) to 1.10 ± 0.16 N (M20), respectively. The impact of mealworm protein powder (5-20%) was relatively minor in cookies but more pronounced in soda crackers, likely due to differences in formulation and processing methods. Additionally, the crunchiness of soda crackers was 3.42 times greater than that of cookies, whereas resilience was only 0.15 times that of cookies under controlled conditions. Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) further elucidated the relationships between the dough properties and final product quality. Furthermore, the substitution of mealworm protein powder affected the sensory properties of the product but significantly enhanced its nutritional value, confirming the feasibility of replacing low-gluten wheat flour with mealworm protein powder and offering a theoretical foundation for its development and application in diverse biscuit formulations.
黄粉虫（, 林奈，1758 年）是一种富含蛋白质的可食用昆虫。在本研究中，将低筋小麦粉与不同浓度（0%、5%、10%、15%和 20%）的黄粉虫蛋白粉进行调配，以研究其对低筋小麦粉的糊化、粉质和拉伸性能的影响，以及所得饼干（苏打饼干和曲奇饼干）整体品质的变化。随着黄粉虫蛋白粉替代水平的提高，复合面粉的粘度降低，回生值从 69.31±0.16 RVU（M0）显著降至 19.00±0.71 RVU（M20），表明淀粉回生抗性增强。粉质和拉伸分析表明，添加黄粉虫蛋白粉降低了面团吸水率，显著延长了面团形成时间和稳定时间，并增强了面团的整体稳定性。然而，延伸性逐渐降低，随着醒发时间增加，延伸性进一步降低。同时，饼干的烘焙膨胀率和硬度降低。具体而言，对于苏打饼干，烘焙膨胀率从 198.96±3.88%（M0）降至 135.74±1.28%（M20），硬度从 26.40±1.53 N（M0）降至 6.32±0.08 N（M20）。对于曲奇饼干，烘焙膨胀率和硬度分别从 93.77±0.72%（M0）降至 86.06±1.08%（M20），从 1.76±0.06 N（M0）降至 1.10±0.16 N（M20）。黄粉虫蛋白粉（5 - 20%）对曲奇饼干的影响相对较小，但对苏打饼干的影响更为明显，这可能是由于配方和加工方法的差异。此外，在控制条件下，苏打饼干的脆度比曲奇饼干高 3.42 倍，而弹性仅为曲奇饼干的 0.15 倍。皮尔逊相关性分析和主成分分析（PCA）进一步阐明了面团性质与最终产品质量之间的关系。此外，黄粉虫蛋白粉的替代影响了产品的感官特性，但显著提高了其营养价值，证实了用黄粉虫蛋白粉替代低筋小麦粉的可行性，并为其在各种饼干配方中的开发和应用提供了理论基础。
