Mealworm larvae ( Tenebrio molitor L.) exuviae as a novel prebiotic material for BALB/c mouse gut microbiota.

Authors :: Kwon GT
Yuk HG
Lee SJ
Chung YH
Jang HS
Yoo JS
Cho KH
Kong H
Shin D
Source :: Food science and biotechnology [Food Sci Biotechnol] 2019 Dec 23; Vol. 29 (4), pp. 531-537. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Dec 23 (Print Publication: 2020).
Publication Year :: 2019
Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of yellow mealworm ( Tenebrio molitor L.) exuviae (ME) given as a prebiotic in 20% of the diet fed to BALB/c mice. Analysis of the ME revealed that it was mostly composed of crude protein (52.94%), crude fiber (10.70%), and moisture (10.54%). When ME was fed to mice for 8 weeks, the number of intestinal lactic acid bacteria increased, reaching similar numbers (4.50 ± 0.80 CFU/mL) to those (4.70 ± 0.80 CFU/mL) of the control group not fed ME. Microbiome analysis showed that 8 weeks feeding of ME promoted the growth of Bifidobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae compared to the POS group, indicating the positive effects of feeding 20% ME on the intestinal microbiota of mice. These results suggest that ME can be considered as a dietary prebiotics to improve human gut microbial population, but further application study to human is necessary.<br />Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors have no conflicts of interest related to this study to disclose.<br /> (© The Korean Society of Food Science and Technology 2019.)

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