YIELD AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICRONIZED TENEBRIO MOLITOR L. LARVAL FLOUR PARTICLES OBTAINED BY PRESSURIZED LIQUID EXTRACTION AND SPRAY DRYING

Global protein demand continues to increase due to population growth, with the world population projected to reach approximately 8.6 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. This scenario intensifies pressure on conventional food production systems and drives the search for sustainable, nutritious protein sources, such as Tenebrio molitor L. flour. Micronization, combined with enzymatic treatment (Corolase®8000, AB Enzymes, Germany), reduces particle size, increases surface area, and improves protein solubility. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the protein micronization yield of Tenebrio molitor L. flour by comparing dispersions prepared with and without enzymatic hydrolysis. Protein dispersions were prepared using 50 g of defatted flour obtained by pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and 500 mL of distilled water. The control treatment (PLEc) was subjected to homogenization, ultrasonication (2 min), Ultra-Turrax processing (25,000 rpm, 5 min), and filtration. For the hydrolyzed treatment (PLEh), 2.5 mL of Corolase®8000 was added, and the dispersion was stirred at 50 °C for 1 h before undergoing the same physical treatment and filtration. Both dispersions were spray-dried (130 °C; 10 mL/min). The resulting particles were evaluated for yield, particle size distribution, moisture content, and water activity, and the data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey's test (95% confidence level). Enzymatic hydrolysis significantly increased (p < 0.05) the micronization yield from 8.27 ± 2.11 to 23.87 ± 2.21 g/100 g dry matter, representing an increase of approximately 190%. Spray drying reduced (p < 0.05) mean diameter from 248.6 ± 7.5 μm (PLE, multimodal) to 8.8 ± 0.1 μm (PLEc, monomodal) and 14.6 ± 0.1 μm (PLEh, bimodal). Despite the slightly larger particle size, enzymatic hydrolysis improved protein solubilization and feed stability, favoring powder recovery during spray drying. PLEh also showed lower (p < 0.05) water activity (0.263 ± 0.008) than PLEc (0.320 ± 0.009), with no significant differences in moisture content (3.85-5.63%). These findings demonstrate that enzymatic hydrolysis improves spray-drying efficiency by increasing process yield, producing fine protein particles with low water activity, and highlighting the potential of Tenebrio molitor flour as a functional ingredient for food, nutritional supplements, and nutraceutical applications.