Table 3.

Amino acid content at different development stages of Tenebrio molitor (mg/g, dry matter basis).

Components	Larvae instar								*Reference substance
	3–4	5–6	7–8	9–10	11–12	13	Pupa	Adult	Whole egg
NEAA
Ala	52.2 ± 0.6b	53.9 ± 0.2a	52.1 ± 0.1b	51.3 ± 0.3b	49.4 ± 0.1c	46.4 ± 0.7d	44.3 ± 0.8e	36.2 ± 1.0f	6.67
Arg	41.0 ± 0.7a	40.5 ± 0.9a	38.6 ± 0.2b	36.9 ± 1.1c	36.2 ± 1.2c	33.3 ± 2.7cd	29.3 ± 1.3d	21.5 ± 1.1e	7.87
Asp	55.1 ± 2.4ab	55.7 ± 0.8a	53.9 ± 2.0ab	53.1 ± 1.3b	51.3 ± 0.9bc	50.1 ± 0.6c	48.5 ± 1.1c	41.1 ± 3.3d	12.7
Cys	7.7 ± 0.2c	8.9 ± 0.0a	8.1 ± 0.0b	7.2 ± 0.1d	6.3 ± 0.2e	5.5 ± 0.1f	4.6 ± 0.4g	3.2 ± 0.4h	3.85
Glu	69.9 ± 1.1b	71.9 ± 0.9a	70.2 ± 0.5b	68.4 ± 1.1bc	67.2 ± 0.6c	65.7 ± 0.6d	60.4 ± 0.9e	53.7 ± 2.7f	16.3
Gly	29.8 ± 0.3c	30.6 ± 0.2b	31.4 ± 0.1a	28.9 ± 0.7c	26.2 ± 0.9d	26.1 ± 0.3d	24.2 ± 0.6e	19.7 ± 1.0f	4.08
Pro	49.1 ± 1.2a	50.5 ± 0.8a	50.1 ± 1.0a	48.2 ± 3.2ab	44.2 ± 1.7b	40.4 ± 2.3b	35.1 ± 1.8c	31.4 ± 0.9d	5.6
Ser	26.9 ± 0.5a	27.1 ± 0.9a	28.0 ± 1.2a	27.1 ± 1.5a	24.3 ± 0.6b	23.4 ± 0.3b	20.9 ± 0.2c	16.8 ± 0.9d	9.19
Tyr	41.3 ± 0.3c	42.0 ± 0.2b	43.1 ± 0.1a	39.7 ± 0.1d	36.9 ± 0.8e	35.0 ± 1.8e	30.6 ± 0.8f	28.7 ± 1.4f	5.12
EAA
His	29.9 ± 0.5a	28.1 ± 0.6b	27.9 ± 0.1b	26.1 ± 0.3c	24.4 ± 0.9d	22.4 ± 1.0e	19.0 ± 0.6f	16.4 ± 1.7g	2.83
Lys	33.3 ± 0.1c	36.9 ± 0.9a	36.1 ± 0.7a	34.1 ± 0.2b	32.1 ± 1.0d	32.3 ± 1.0cd	31.5 ± 1.4d	30.6 ± 1.9d	8.32
Thr	30.5 ± 1.9a	29.7 ± 1.7ab	28.7 ± 1.1ab	26.1 ± 2.0b	22.6 ± 0.7c	21.5 ± 1.2cd	20.3 ± 1.4d	19.1 ± 0.9d	5.94
Ile	27.5 ± 0.0b	27.9 ± 0.3a	26.1 ± 0.1c	24.2 ± 0.3d	21.5 ± 0.5e	19.7 ± 0.2f	16.1 ± 0.1g	13.2 ± 0.5h	6.16
Leu	35.9 ± 0.4b	36.6 ± 0.1a	35.1 ± 0.2c	33.3 ± 0.2d	32.4 ± 0.1e	29.7 ± 1.9f	22.1 ± 0.3g	19.1 ± 1.1h	10.5
Met	9.8 ± 0.1a	8.1 ± 0.0b	7.2 ± 0.0c	6.5 ± 0.0e	6.9 ± 0.1d	5.9 ± 0.9de	4.4 ± 0.1f	3.2 ± 0.1g	4.18
Phe	24.4 ± 0.2a	23.1 ± 0.0b	23.9 ± 0.4a	22.6 ± 0.1c	20.6 ± 0.9d	18.8 ± 0.1e	15.3 ± 0.5f	12.3 ± 1.0g	6.6
Trp	4.5 ± 0.1a	4.2 ± 0.0b	3.9 ± 0.2c	3.2 ± 0.1d	3.0 ± 0.2d	2.6 ± 0.0e	1.9 ± 0.1f	1.4 ± 0.3g	1.66
Val	39.5 ± 0.3b	40.4 ± 0.5a	40.7 ± 0.2a	38.6 ± 0.2c	35.1 ± 0.5d	34.4 ± 1.5de	32.1 ± 0.9e	25.4 ± 0.7f	7.34
EAAI	88.16	89.22	86.06	82.52	86.79	80.62	72.77	68.66

^*The data of reference substances from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (38); NEAA, non-essential amino acid; EAA, essential amino acid; EAAI, Essential Amino Acid Index. Data are presented as the mean ± SD. Means with different superscripts in column differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05). n = 3.