Perfil de voláteis, fenólicos totais e potencial antioxidante de cerveja adicionada de inseto comestível

Abstract

Beer is one of the most consumed beverages globally, with an annual production of approximately 180 million tons. The beer market has shown exponential growth, with over 1,500 registered establishments in Brazil alone. In this context of constant growth and investment, a key concern for the beer industry is to produce widely accepted beers that maintain their characteristics until consumption. Therefore, innovation plays a fundamental role in ensuring sustainability and expanding a product's presence in the market. In this context, we sought an alternative to enhance a Cream Ale-style beer by adding giant mealworm larvae flour. The objective of the study was to analyze the properties of beers with the addition of giant mealworm larvae flour to identify, classify, and quantify the main volatile substances present and compare them to a beer of the same style without the flour addition. To conduct this study, three formulations were developed using the BeerSmith® brewing software: one standard formulation and two formulations with the addition of 2.5% and 5% of giant mealworm larvae flour, represented as FP, F1, and F2. Analyses were performed for the volatile compound profile, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity. In the sample analyses, 81 different types of volatile compounds were identified, divided into 9 classes: acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, others, phenols, pyrazines, and terpenes. Sample FP contained a total of 584.63 mg/L of these volatile substances. Sample F1 had a slightly higher value, with 650.82 mg/L. Finally, sample F2 had the highest value among the three, with a total of 1163.35 mg/L of volatile compounds. Total phenolic compound levels ranged from 0.225 to 0.090 mg of gallic acid/mL of beer in the samples, with FP having the highest amount of total phenolics and sample F2 having the lowest amount. A significant difference in the total phenolic content was observed, with sample FP, which does not include giant mealworm larvae flour, exhibiting a considerably higher antioxidant content of 7234.41 mg/l compared to samples F1 and F2, which had 4979.94 mg/l and 2026.20 mg/l, respectively. Considering the results obtained, it can be concluded that the addition of 2.5% insect flour reduced the concentration of seven out of eight classes of volatile compounds in the beers, while the addition of 5% flour reduced only four. Esters, alcohols, and acids were the most concentrated classes. In terms of compound quantity, esters predominated, followed by terpenes and alcohols. The inclusion of giant mealworm larvae flours also reduced phenolic compounds and antioxidants.