Lipid extraction from Galleria mellonella larvae: introducing the use of eco-friendly solvents and emerging technologies

Edible insects are seen nowadays as important protein sources, thus holding a huge potential for becoming a food solution in the future. However, beyond their protein content, mainly at their larvae stage, they also offer significant potential as lipid sources for use as food ingredient. In this context, the present work aimed to investigate the lipid extraction of G. mellonella larvae through sustainable methods, employing green techniques, such as Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE), using eco-friendly solvents like CO 2 and hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (H-DES) composed by menthol and eucalyptol 1:1 molar ratio. Mass transfer kinetic modeling using the Two-site and Spline models revealed improved lipid extraction efficiency when SFE was combined with H-DES. Phase equilibrium results indicated homogeneous systems across all extraction conditions, likely enhancing mass transfer as demonstrated by the highest yield (58.8%). Palmitic and oleic were the main fatty acids in all extraction conditions applied. Alternative extraction methods improved linoleic acid recovery, although G. mellonella lipid extracts showed limited acetylcholinesterase inhibition (IC 50 > 200 μg extract/ml) compared to plant-based extracts. Finally, Path2Green analysis identified SFE-H-DES as the method with the lowest environmental impact. These findings pose G. mellonella as a promising lipid source and underscore the importance of adopting sustainable extraction methods to efficiently recover lipid-soluble compounds from edible insects.