This study investigated the in vitro bioaccessibility of aluminum, copper, iron, manganese, lead, selenium, and zinc in three important species of farmed insects: the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) and the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Results show that all three insect species constitute excellent sources of essential elements (Fe, Cu and Zn) for the human diet, contributing to the recommended dietary allowance, i.e., 10%, 50%, and 92%, respectively. A higher accumulation of Se (≥1.4 mg Se/kg) was observed with increasing exposure concentration in A. domesticus, showing the possibility of using insects as a supplements for this element. The presence of Al and Fe nanoparticles was confirmed in all three species using single particle-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The results also indicate that Fe bioaccessibility declines with increasing Fe-nanoparticle concentration. These findings contribute to increase the nutritional and toxicological insights of farmed insects.

Área Química Analítica Facultad de Química Universidad de la República Av Gral Flores 2124 Montevideo Uruguay

Department of Microbiology Nutrition and Dietetics Czech University of Life Sciences Praha Suchdol Czech Republic

Department of Physical and Analytical Chemistry Faculty of Chemistry University of Oviedo Julián Clavería 8 33006 Oviedo Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias Oviedo Spain

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Czech University of Life Sciences Praha Suchdol Czech Republic

Jožef Stefan Institute Jamova cesta 39 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia

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