Proteins and Amino Acids from Edible Insects for the Human Diet-A Narrative Review Considering Environmental Sustainability and Regulatory Challenges

Abstract

The scientific interest in edible insects as an alternative source of high-value protein for the human diet has increased drastically over the last decade. Edible insects harbour enormous potential in terms of planetary health. Their lower water and land use, lower feed conversion ratios, and overall lower global warming potential paired with a high nutritional value compared with conventional livestock are key drivers towards an environmentally sustainable diet. However, low consumer acceptance, as well as regulatory challenges, have slowed down the success of edible insects in Western countries, despite edible insects being consumed regularly all over the world. To date, four edible insect species have been approved as novel foods in the European Union-namely yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), house cricket (Acheta domesticus), and lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus). Depending on the species, they have a high protein content (48-67%), with a beneficial indispensable amino acid profile, high fat content (21-39%), with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids based on the dry matter, and contain reasonable amounts of minerals and vitamins. Unlike other animal-based foods, edible insects contain dietary fibre. Data on the bioavailability of nutrients in humans are scarce. Although numerous publications have investigated the nutritional profiles, environmental impacts, and future perspectives of edible insects, here, those findings are reviewed critically, as some publications were partially contradictory or related to selected species only. In this narrative review, we emphasise that edible insects could play a key role in a changing world with a steadily increasing demand for nutritionally valuable food and the depletion of natural resources.

Keywords: consumer acceptance; digestible amino acid scores; edible insects; environmental sustainability; food safety; nutritional profile; protein quality.

Figure 1

Simplified taxonomy of “insects”. In the animal group of invertebrates, the phylum Arthropoda contains, in addition to the subphylum Chelicerata with the class Arachnida, the clade Mandibulata. In this clade, there is the subphylum Myriapoda and the clade Pancrustacea, with the closely related subphyla Crustacea and Hexapoda. Insecta are a class of Hexapoda [2,3,4,12]. Created in BioRender. Nachtigall, L. (2025) https://BioRender.com/z02p871 (accessed on 27 March 2025).

Figure 2

Number of publications worldwide, depending on their year of publication, based on a Web of Science search and regulatory milestones in the European Union (EU). Search terms were “Acheta domesticus”, “Alphitobius diaperinus”, “amino acid”, “amino acid score”, “chemical composition”, “consum*”, “cricket”, “edible insect*”, “entomophagy”, “environment*”, “food”, “locusta migratoria”, “mealworm”, “nutritional profile*”, “protein, quality”, and “Tenebrio molitor”, combined using Boolean connectors (AND, OR). Key publications were published in 2013 (red). Important regulatory milestones in the EU led to the approval of four insect species as novel food until 2025. Created in BioRender. Nachtigall, L. (2025) https://BioRender.com/6cjd03w (accessed on 27 March 2025).

Figure 3

Benefits of edible insects as novel foods compared with conventional animal-based foods and vegetable protein (based on dry legumes and vegetable meat substitutes). (A) Percentage edible of the whole animal [1,52,54]. (B) Feed conversion ratio. Effectiveness depends on rearing conditions, substrate quality, age, and other factors [1,55,56]. (C) Land use (contains agricultural land needed for feed) [33,53,57,58,59]. (D) Water use (includes water needed for feed) [33,59,60,61]. (E) Global warming potential [33,53,57,58,59]. Created in BioRender. Nachtigall, L. (2025) https://BioRender.com/7fx26th (accessed on 27 March 2025).