Study of fatty acid esters obtained from the biomass of Hermetia illucens larvae and the prospects of their use in the food industry

Abstract

In this study we carried out a physicochemical analysis of fatty acid esters (FFA) obtained from the biomass of larvae, which can be used as ingredients in the food industry and for the manufacture of feed. The acute toxicity of fatty acid esters obtained from the biomass of Hermetia illucens larvae was determined. It was revealed that the acid and peroxide values of the fat fraction obtained from the biomass of Hermetia illucens larvae are within the limits established by the norm, which indicates the high quality of this product. The fatty acid composition is represented mainly by lauric, palmitic, oleic and myristic acids. It was shown that the differences in fatty acid composition of the samples, obtained from the biomass of Hermetia illucens larvae manually and using the Soxhlet extraction apparatus, were insignificant and within the acceptable values. In the study of presence of toxic elements in fat fractions, lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, iron were not detected or they did not exceed the established values.