Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix

Villa, Caterina; Moura, Mónica B. M. V.; Teixeira, Carla S. S.; Costa, Joana; Mafra, Isabel

doi:10.3390/nu15030482

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix

by

Caterina Villa

,

Mónica B. M. V. Moura

,

Carla S. S. Teixeira

,

Joana Costa

^*

and

Isabel Mafra

^*

REQUIMTE-LAQV, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 482; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030482

Submission received: 15 December 2022 / Revised: 12 January 2023 / Accepted: 14 January 2023 / Published: 17 January 2023

(This article belongs to the Section Nutritional Immunology)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

The consumption of insects has increased in western countries, raising concerns about their potential to induce food allergic reactions in sensitized/allergic individuals. This work intended to develop a real-time PCR approach for the detection/quantification of yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a potential allergenic food in complex matrices. For this purpose, reference mixtures simulating the production of pork sausages and wheat biscuits containing known amounts of mealworm were used. Real-time PCR with TaqMan probe targeting the cytochrome b gene of T. molitor was able to detect up to 2 fg of insect DNA, and 1.0 and 0.1 mg/kg of mealworm flour in autoclaved sausages and baked biscuits, respectively. Generally, the method showed acceptable analytical performance parameters, confirming its suitability/applicability for a wide range of foods. However, real-time PCR data showed significant differences among food matrix and processing, highlighting the importance of using appropriate calibration models for quantitative analysis. Finally, the real-time PCR approach was successfully validated with blind mixtures and applied to commercial samples, demonstrating its efficacy and reliability in the quantification of mealworm in processed foodstuffs.

Keywords: Tenebrio molitor; insects; novel allergens; real-time PCR; food matrix; heat processing

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Villa, C.; Moura, M.B.M.V.; Teixeira, C.S.S.; Costa, J.; Mafra, I. Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix. Nutrients 2023, 15, 482. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030482

AMA Style

Villa C, Moura MBMV, Teixeira CSS, Costa J, Mafra I. Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix. Nutrients. 2023; 15(3):482. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030482

Chicago/Turabian Style

Villa, Caterina, Mónica B. M. V. Moura, Carla S. S. Teixeira, Joana Costa, and Isabel Mafra. 2023. "Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix" Nutrients 15, no. 3: 482. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030482

APA Style

Villa, C., Moura, M. B. M. V., Teixeira, C. S. S., Costa, J., & Mafra, I. (2023). Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix. Nutrients, 15(3), 482. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030482

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Monitoring Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) as a Potential Novel Allergenic Food: Effect of Food Processing and Matrix

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI