Evaluation of Roasting and Grilling Effects on Chemical Composition, Volatile Profiles, and Toxicity of Stink Bugs (Tessaratoma papillosa): Implications for Utilization as Functional Food Ingredients

Abstract

The stink bug (Tessaratoma papillosa) is a highly popular edible insect in Thai traditional cuisine, but little research has investigated the effects of heat treatment on the quality of stink bugs. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of roasting and grilling on the chemical changes and volatile compounds of late nymph and adult stink bugs. In general, all treated samples showed increases in phenolic acid, tocopherols, and amino acid contents and a decrease in the content of fiber compared with raw stink bugs (p < 0.05). Cinnamic acid significantly increased by over 200% in late nymph insects and 30% in adult insects after roasting, whereas syringic acid decreased after cooking (p < 0.05). The most predominant volatile compound found in all samples was 5-methyl-octadecane and it decreased after cooking, while volatile alkane compounds increased after cooking. The processed sample extracts showed higher toxicity on oral cancer KB and cervical cancer Hela cells than on Vero cells. We have demonstrated that different cooking methods affected the chemical components which may result in quality attributes if stink bug is to be used as a functional ingredient/food. It may be helpful to improve the nutritional and functional values of stink bugs during deep processing.