# Insect proteins and peptides: preparation, bioactivities, and applications

## TL;DR

This review explores how insect proteins and peptides can be sustainably produced and used in food, feed, and pharmaceuticals.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive comparison of extraction methods and applications of insect proteins and peptides.

## Key findings

- Insects offer high protein content and balanced nutrition with low production costs.
- Traditional and innovative extraction methods for insect proteins are systematically compared.
- Applications in food, feed, and pharmaceuticals are summarized with recommendations for industrial advancement.

## Abstract

The surge in global population has driven a dramatic increase in protein demand, and insects have emerged as a promising sustainable high-quality protein resource due to their advantages of high reproductive rates, low production costs, high protein content, and balanced nutritional profiles. This review systematically compares the traditional and innovative extraction methods for insect proteins and peptides, and explores their functional characteristics. Moreover, this review summarizes the multiple applications of insect proteins and peptides in food, feed, and pharmaceutical industry, and provides a forward-looking perspective on the challenges that impede their broader implementation, and concrete recommendations are proposed to facilitate the industrial advancement of insect-derived bioproducts and foster their integration into mainstream consumer markets.