Fatty Acid Composition and Anti-inflammatory Effects of the Freeze Dried Tenebrio molitor Larva

This study aimed to assess fatty acid composition and anti-inflammatory effects, such as nitric oxide(NO) production, expression of TNF-α and interleukin-6(IL-6), of Tenebrio molitor larva using RAW 264.7 cells. The content of total fatty acid in Tenebrio molitor larva was 76.14%, which was composed of oleic acid(42.12%), linoleic acid(32.67%) etc. There was no cytotoxicity at a dose level of 0.1, 1.0, 10, and 100μg/mL of freeze dried Tenebrio molitor larva ethanol extract(FDTEtOH) on RAW 264.7 cells. FDTEtOH significantly decreased NO production in LPS(lipopolysaccharide)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Also, FDTEtOH dose-dependently suppressed the expression of TNF-α and IL-6. Thus, these results showed that Tenebrio molitor larva has the potential to be used as an anti-inflammatory food to improve immunity.