'Bugs for muscle?' How edible insects are moving from novelty to nutraceutical

Mealworm larvae protein tops 50% — and can now be mass-reared indoors

From 9g of powder to 2g of hydrolysate, the ingredient is finding its way into drinks and protein bars

Those with crustacean allergies should take caution; research on white-spotted flower beetles and silkworms is also underway

Mealworm larvae [Rural Development Administration]

The edible insect industry is moving well beyond the novelty of simply eating bugs. What began as a conversation about consuming whole insects or grinding them into protein powder has advanced to extracting and processing specific bioactive compounds for use as functional health food ingredients.

The clearest example is the mealworm larva, known in Korea as "gosoa." Its hydrolysate recently received recognition from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as an ingredient that can "help maintain muscle strength that may decline due to aging." First registered as a general food ingredient in 2016, gosoa has expanded its reach into the functional health food category a decade later.

But why gosoa among the vast array of insects?

Protein content is the starting point. Gosoa larvae are more than 50 percent protein and carry a strong essential amino acid profile. Their fat is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, and they also contain minerals including calcium, iron and magnesium.

Gosoa also has traits that lend themselves to industrialization. Stable indoor mass-rearing is feasible, making a consistent raw material supply achievable — which is precisely why the Rural Development Administration registered the larvae as a general food ingredient in March 2016 and has continued researching them as a food material ever since.

Can gosoa simply be eaten as is? Yes — it is already a registered general food ingredient. The challenge arises when it is used as a functional ingredient.

Dried gosoa powder consists of high-molecular-weight proteins that take time to digest and absorb, and the form limits how it can be incorporated into different products. Researchers addressed this by applying hydrolysis technology — treating defatted gosoa powder with enzymes to break the proteins down into smaller peptides and amino acids.

The resulting hydrolysate dissolves readily in water, and the body can digest, absorb and utilize it more efficiently. Earlier human trials using a gosoa shake required 9 grams of the powder; the muscle-strength trial used just 2 grams of the hydrolysate.

The hydrolysis process also changed the ingredient's composition significantly. Leucine content rose from 0.47 mg per gram of gosoa powder to 12.08 mg in the hydrolysate. Isoleucine increased from 0.31 mg to 5.10 mg, and valine from 0.68 mg to 7.47 mg. All three are branched-chain amino acids associated with muscle protein synthesis.

A patient meal prepared using gosoa [Rural Development Administration]

How much did muscle strength actually improve?

The Rural Development Administration gave 44 adults aged 50 to 75 a daily 2-gram dose of gosoa hydrolysate for 12 weeks. Average grip strength rose from 21.4 kg to 26.8 kg — a gain of 5.4 kg, or 2.1 times the increase seen in the control group.

The time needed to stand up from a chair five times also fell from 7.38 seconds to 6.23 seconds, a reduction of 1.15 seconds. Quadriceps strength improved 7.7 times for the extensor muscles and 2.3 times for the flexor muscles compared with the control group.

Researchers also investigated the mechanism behind these effects. They identified a peptide called AAPY in the gosoa hydrolysate and confirmed that it activates the SIRT1 and Akt pathways — cellular regulators that suppress muscle protein breakdown and promote synthesis.

Does this mean consumers will have to eat gosoa in larval form? Not at all.

Because the hydrolysate dissolves easily in water, it can be formulated into beverages, sports drinks, stick-type powders and protein bars, and can also be mixed into milk, soy milk or yogurt. The edible insect industry is effectively shifting its focus from "how do we get people to eat insects" to "which foods can carry insect-derived protein ingredients."

What about safety?

The Rural Development Administration conducted acute oral toxicity tests, 28-day and 90-day repeated oral administration studies, and genotoxicity tests on the gosoa hydrolysate, all of which confirmed it to be non-toxic. No adverse effects were observed during preclinical or clinical trial phases.

One caution applies, however. People with crustacean allergies should be careful, as gosoa may cross-react with crustacean allergens.

What comes after gosoa?

White-spotted flower beetle larvae [Rural Development Administration]

The Rural Development Administration is also researching functional protein ingredients derived from other insects, including white-spotted flower beetle larvae — known as "kkotbaengyi" — and silkworms. Development of medical foods, flavor improvement of insect protein, and allergen management technology are also on the research agenda.

The production infrastructure is taking shape as well. The government completed an insect industry hub complex in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Sept. 8. A combined 20 billion won ($14.7 million) in national and local government funding was invested from 2023 through this year. The complex includes one factory farm building, 33 rental smart farm units, AI-based measurement systems and automated rearing lines.

Adult white-spotted flower beetle [Rural Development Administration]

The complex has an annual production capacity of up to 1,000 tons. Insect ingredients produced there are intended for use in health functional foods, beverages, protein powders and medical foods.

Jeong Gyeong-seok, director of food industry policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said the registration of gosoa hydrolysate as a functional ingredient for muscle maintenance "is expected to accelerate industry-led commercialization." He added that the government would "strengthen the industrial ecosystem encompassing production and retail on the foundation of a stable raw material supply chain through the insect industry hub complex, and raise international competitiveness."

adastra@heraldcorp.com