# Characteristics of Oils Extracted from Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) Dried with the Infrared-Convective Method

**Authors:** Radosław Bogusz, Małgorzata Nowacka, Rita Brzezińska, Iga Piasecka-Lenartowicz, Artur Wiktor, Joanna Bryś

PMC · DOI: 10.3390/molecules31040689 · Molecules · 2026-02-17

## TL;DR

This study examines how drying yellow mealworms with infrared-convective methods affects the oils extracted from them, finding that pretreatment improves oil quality and yield.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the investigation of pulsed electric field pretreatment and infrared-convective drying on yellow mealworm oil properties.

## Key findings

- PEF pretreatment increased oil extraction yield by up to 29.2%.
- PEF and IR-CD drying lowered acid and peroxide values, increased MUFA content, and improved oxidative stability.
- Nutritional properties of oils deteriorated despite improved quality indicators.

## Abstract

Edible insects are a nutritionally attractive food product, also due to their high fat content and high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. In this work, the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment and infrared-convective (IR-CD) drying on the oil properties extracted from yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) larvae was investigated. The oil from raw and dried insects was extracted via the Soxhlet method for yield determination and via the Folch method for quality analysis. The acid value (AV) and peroxide value (PV) via the titration method, fatty acid composition and its distribution in triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules via the gas chromatography method, calculation of nutritional value indices, oxidative stability via pressure differential scanning calorimetry (PDSC) method, and antioxidant activity of methanol extracts were examined. The results show that PEF may enhance the oil extraction yield from dried insects by up to 29.2%. The PEF treatment and drying method made insect oils more valuable by lowering their acid and peroxide values, increasing the MUFA content, and improving oxidative stability. Nonetheless, the nutritional properties of oils deteriorated. Our study demonstrated that oils extracted from dried yellow mealworm could be used as an ingredient in other food products to improve their nutritional value. However, more research in this area is needed to assess the impact on quality properties.

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** HH (MESH:D006938), AI (MESH:D050197), TI (MESH:C566784), yellow mealworm (MESH:C537729), coronary heart disease (MESH:D003327), platelet aggregation (MESH:D001791), injury to (MESH:D014947), PEF (MESH:D004556)
- **Chemicals:** Oil (MESH:D009821), sodium thiosulfate (MESH:C017717), Fatty Acid (MESH:D005227), MUFA (MESH:D005229), tocopherol (MESH:D024505), pentadecanoic acid (MESH:C117025), magnesium sulfate (MESH:D008278), Peroxide (MESH:D010545), glycerol (MESH:D005990), PUFA (MESH:D005231), silica (MESH:D012822), bile salts (MESH:D001647), palmitoleic acid (MESH:C008757), AL (MESH:D000535), HH (-), diethyl ether (MESH:D004986), CD (MESH:D002104), myristic acid (MESH:D019814), oleic acid (MESH:D019301), KCl (MESH:D011189), KOH (MESH:C029943), lipid (MESH:D008055), palmitic acid (MESH:D019308), chloroform (MESH:D002725), CO2 (MESH:D002245), polyphenol (MESH:D059808), carbon (MESH:D002244), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (MESH:C004931), linoleic acids (MESH:D008041), ester (MESH:D004952), TAG (MESH:D014280), nitrogen (MESH:D009584), n-3 PUFA (MESH:D015525), O2 (MESH:D010100), acid (MESH:D000143), n-hexane (MESH:C026385), Trolox (MESH:C010643), methanol (MESH:D000432), linoleic acid (MESH:D019787), Fats (MESH:D005223), vegetable oils (MESH:D010938), cholesterol (MESH:D002784), HCl (MESH:D006851), calcium chloride (MESH:D002122), C12:0 (MESH:C030358), petroleum ether (MESH:C004544), C18:0 (MESH:C031183), free fatty acids (MESH:D005230), coriander seed oil (MESH:C000614311), C18:3 n-3 (MESH:D017962), myristoleic acid (MESH:C054211), H2O (MESH:D014867), phospholipid (MESH:D010743)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Hexapoda (hexapods, subphylum) [taxon 6960], Sesamum indicum (beniseed, species) [taxon 4182], Gallus gallus (bantam, species) [taxon 9031], Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm, species) [taxon 7067], Helianthus annuus (common sunflower, species) [taxon 4232], Olea (olives, genus) [taxon 4145]
- **Mutations:** Q20, Q20P

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

64 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12943167/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12943167