Perceived Satiety and Consumer Sensory Acceptance of Functional Foods Enriched With Edible Insect and Plant Proteins

NCT07181408 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: NOODLE
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized, single-blind, triple crossover study investigated the effects of baked snacks containing either cricket flour (Acheta domesticus), pea flour (both at 15%), or a wheat flour-based control. One hundred adult participants were recruited and consumed each of the three products across separate sessions. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, hunger and satiety perceptions using visual analogue scales (VAS), gastrointestinal tolerability via a post-consumption questionnaire, hedonic liking assessed with a 9-point scale, and sensory and emotional responses using Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) questionnaires.

Conditions

Healthy Volunteer

Keywords

insect protein

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Postprandial Subjective Satiety Perception

  Satiety perception will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; 0-100 mm), where 0 = "not satiated at all" and 100 = "extremely satiated". Higher scores indicate greater satiety.

  60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes post-consumption.

• Postprandial Hunger

  Hunger perception will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; 0-100 mm), where 0 = "not hungry at all" and 100 = "extremely hungry". Higher scores indicate greater hunger.

  60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes post-consumption.

• Postprandial Gastric Fullness

  Gastric fullness perception will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; 0-100 mm), where 0 = "not full at all" and 100 = "extremely full". Higher scores indicate greater fullness.

  60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes post-consumption.

• Prospective Food Consumption

  Prospective food consumption will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; 0-100 mm), where 0 = "no desire to eat at all" and 100 = "extreme desire to eat". Higher scores indicate greater desire for food intake.

  60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 minutes post-consumption.

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Gastrointestinal Symptoms Evaluation

  Within 24 hours after snack intake.

• Sensory Acceptability

  Immediately after snack consumption.

• Emotional and Descriptive Food Experience

  Immediately after snack consumption.

Study Arms (3)

Cricket Flour-Enriched Snack

EXPERIMENTAL

savory snack enriched with 15% cricket flour

Other: Snack enriched with 15% cricket flour

Pea Flour-Enriched Snack

EXPERIMENTAL

savory snack enriched with 15% pea flour

Other: Snack enriched with 15% pea flour.

Control Snack (Wheat Flour-Based)

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

conventional savory snack made of wheat flour.

Other: Wheat flour-based control snack

Interventions

Wheat flour-based control snack OTHER

Consumption of a single 50-gram portion of a wheat flour-based control snack.

Control Snack (Wheat Flour-Based)

Snack enriched with 15% cricket flour OTHER

Consumption of a single 50-gram portion of a snack enriched with 15% cricket flour (Acheta domesticus).

Cricket Flour-Enriched Snack

Snack enriched with 15% pea flour. OTHER

Consumption of a single 50-gram portion of a snack enriched with 15% pea flour.

Pea Flour-Enriched Snack

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Healthy volunteer subjects aged between 18 and 65 years;
• Body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 29.9 kg/m²

You may not qualify if:

• Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus;
• Thyroid disorders;
• Food allergies;
• Gastrointestinal and/or systemic diseases (including renal, hepatic, cardiovascular, or any other organ-related conditions);
• Regular use of medications or dietary supplements;
• Pregnancy or lactation;
• Following specific dietary regimens (vegetarian or vegan).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Turin, Italy: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Torino

Torino, Italy

Location

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2025
• First Posted: September 18, 2025
• Study Start: November 10, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 20, 2025
• Study Completion: July 24, 2025
• Last Updated: September 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IT (1)