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This research was funded by the University of Zaragoza, grant number JIUZ2023-SAL-08, and the Government of Aragon (grant Grupo A06-23R).

Analysis of institutional authors

Juan, TeresaAuthor

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December 26, 2024
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Exploring the Potential of Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) Oil as a Nutraceutical Ingredient

Publicated to:Foods. 13 (23): 3867- - 2024-12-01 13(23), DOI: 10.3390/foods13233867

Authors: Martinez-Pineda, Montserrat; Juan, Teresa; Antoniewska-Krzeska, Agata; Vercet, Antonio; Abenoza, Maria; Yague-Ruiz, Cristina; Rutkowska, Jaroslawa

Affiliations

Ctr Invest & Tecnol Agroalimentaria Aragon CITA, Ave Montanana 930, Zaragoza 50059, Spain - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Ctr Invest & Tecnol Agroalimentaria Aragon CITA, Inst Agroalimentario Aragon IA2, Zaragoza 50013, Spain - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Fac Hlth & Sports Sci, Plaza Univ 3, Huesca 22002, Spain - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Fac Vet, C-Miguel Servet 177, Zaragoza 50013, Spain - Author
Warsaw Univ Life Sci, Inst Human Nutr Sci, Fac Human Nutr, Nowoursynowska St 159c, PL-02776 Warsaw, Poland - Author
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Abstract

During defatted Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae powder production, oil is obtained as a by-product, mainly intended for feed enrichment or as a biofuel component. In 2021, EFSA authorized TM as the first insect to be a novel food. Thus, the study aimed to assess the composition, including fatty acids (FAs), tocopherols, carotenoids, phenolics, volatiles, antioxidant capacity, sensory aroma attributes, physical properties, and oxidative and hydrolytic stability of TM oil. The FAs profile was dominated by oleic-C18:19c (36.8%) and linoleic-C18:29c12c (32,4%) acids, resulting in a PUFA/SFA ratio similar to vegetable oils. Thus, TM oil was characterized by a beneficial Health Promoting Index (HPI) (2.42), which was 10-fold higher than the HPI of common animal fats. TM oil contained bioactive compounds such as carotenoids (13.65 mg/kg), tocopherols (105.8 mg/kg), and phenolic compounds (74 mg GAE/kg). A noticeable amount of apigenin was also noted among nine detected phenolic compounds. The substantial presence of lipophilic and phenolic compounds contributed to antioxidative potential. Sensory estimation revealed the dominance of fried and nutty aromas, probably because of the abundance of Strecker aldehydes and pyrazines in their volatile profile. The results indicated that the technological process needs modification to limit the formation of lipid oxidation volatile compounds such as aldehydes and eliminate some differences between batches. This preliminary study on the composition and properties of TM oil encourages its use as an ingredient for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics purposes.

Keywords

<italic>tenebrio molitor</italic> oilAceites grasosAntioxidant activityAntioxidant propertiesAromaCarotenoidesCarotenoidsCompuestos fenólicosFatty acidsFatty-acidsFoodLipid oxidationNutritional compositionOleatParametersPhenolic compoundsPropiedades antioxidantesSensory aroma attributesSurface-tensionTenebrio molitor oilTocoferolesTocopherolTocopherolsViscosityVolatile compounds

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Foods due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 42/181, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science & Technology.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-10-20:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 4
  • Europe PMC: 1

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-10-20:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 26.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 27 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10532/7421

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Poland.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Martínez-Pineda, Montserrat) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Martínez-Pineda, Montserrat.