Characterization of fatty acid profile on Hermetia illucens harvested at different development stages for feed production.

Insects are gaining popularity in society, especially in light of the recent cultural emphasis on the need of sustainable consumption. Insects' potential is rapidly developing due to the increasing demands of animal-derived protein and their ability to address environmental challenges. The Hermetia illucens larvae contain high nutritional content of protein and lipid. As such, the nutritional content of this larva is a potential food source and is suitable to be used as novel feed for animal, avian and aquaculture. During this study, the larvae were fed with soy pulp until it reaches a pre-pupae stage. The comparisons of fatty acid profiling were done by harvesting the larvae on the 10^th day, 12^th day and pre-pupae, respectively. After the larvae have been harvested, they are rinsed with distilled water to remove any impurities. Thereafter, the different stages of development of the larvae were dried in an oven at 80°C for 24 hours. Extraction of crude lipids based on different larval development times was performed with n-hexane via soxhlet method. Subsequently, after extraction, a series of lipid analysis were carried to determine the free fatty acid, acid value, iodine value, peroxide value and fatty acid composition. The analyses of lipid were done in accordance with the AOAC methods. Lipid contents of the larvae of different development time indicates that, lipid contents increase from 10^th (28.1%) to 12^th day (31.14%) before it decreases during pre-pupae stage (30.23%). The acid values attained for 10^th day old larvae, 12^th day old larvae and pre-pupae were 9.60±0.48, 89.24±2.28 and 180.28±8.80 mg KOH/g, respectively. Free fatty acid (FFA) value and acid values of lipids are closely related as the rancidity of crude oils is followed by free fatty acid formation due to the decomposing of glycerides in lipids due to the action of lipase. Based on the results, lowest iodine value observed for 10^th day old larvae (22.42±0.14 gI₂/100g) and the highest was observed in pre-pupae (55.38±5.17 gI₂/100g). A higher iodine value indicates the higher amount of double bond in the crude lipid, which depicts the tendency for the oxidation of the oil. The fatty acid profile indicated that the fatty acid was primarily lauric acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]