Cricket Flour Metabolism in Humans

NCT06771804 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: FHMS 21-22 231 EGA
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

With increasing demands on the environment people are looking in different ways to decrease their carbon footprint. Protein is an important part of human diets a it provides building blocks for growth and helps to ensure people stay health. Animal protein is one of the primary sources of of protein from our diets but it is also known that farming cattle for example places a lot of pressure on the environment. As a result of this new protein sources are being looked at that can take the place of animal protein. Insects have been consumed on many civilisations for a long time and they are slowly making their way into the western diets. At this time the investigators however do not know very much about how well insect protein compares to animal protein as a nutritious food source. This research project is therefore one of the first to compare some of the nutritional properties between animal and insect proteins. In brief, this study involves eating a sweet breakfast muffin made of either whey (animal) protein powder or cricket flour (very finely ground whole adult crickets) and then breathing into test tubes at various time points for a few hours as well as collecting some small amounts of blood using a finger stick to measure blood glucose and fats.

Conditions

Nutrition, Healthy

Keywords

Nutrition; Alternative Protein; Gastric emptying

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Digestion

  Gastric emptying

  4 hours post prandial

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Digestion

  4 hours post prandial

• Blood metabolites

  4 hours post prandial

• Blood metabolites

  4 hours post prandial

Study Arms (2)

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Whey Protein intervention

Dietary Supplement: Cricket Protein

Insect

EXPERIMENTAL

Cricket Protein intervention

Dietary Supplement: Cricket Protein

Interventions

Cricket Protein DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Participants are provided with muffins containing either whey or cricket protein.

Control; Insect

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 75 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Apparently healthy adult males and females between 20 and 55 years of age
• BMI between 18.5 and 35 kg/m2
• Weight stable for 3 months (± 2 kg)
• Volunteers must be able and willing to give informed written consent
• Volunteers must be able to eat egg (because egg is required for preparation of the stable isotope dosage see section experimental design).

You may not qualify if:

• Previous or current medical conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases (for example Crohn's disease, Coeliac disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease), liver disease, endocrine diseases - assessed via a health questionnaire (appendix)
• Those taking (or have been taking within the past 6 months) regular medication, excluding contraceptive medication, or food supplements (e.g., vitamins, minerals, fish oil, fibre supplements, antioxidant tablets) - assessed via a health questionnaire (appendix) Those smoking, using nicotine products (e.g., e-cigarettes, patches) or not abstained from these activities for more than 6 months
• Pregnant or lactating
• Volunteers with a habitual caffeine intake \> 300 mg/day (more than 5 cups standard coffee)
• Drug or alcohol abuse in the last 2 years
• The principal investigator considers it unsafe / unsuitable for the volunteer to be in the study
• Those who are currently taking part in a clinical trial or another research study or have taken part within the last 3 months
• Those who do not refrain from alcohol, caffeine containing drinks (e.g., coffee, coca cola, tea, Red Bull) and strenuous exercise 10 hours before the laboratory session
• Those with food allergies, dietary intolerance (especially for egg), or Coeliac disease
• Those following weight reducing diets

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Surrey: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Surrey

Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

capsid protein, Cricket paralysis virus

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2025
• First Posted: January 13, 2025
• Study Start: October 1, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2023
• Study Completion: January 8, 2025
• Last Updated: January 16, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)