Ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction (UAAE) was used to extract oil from Clanis bilineata (CB), a traditional edible insect that can be reared on a large scale in China, and the physicochemical property and antioxidant capacity of the UAAE-derived oil (UAAEO) were investigated for the first time. UAAE conditions of CB oil was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and the highest oil yield (19.47%) was obtained under optimal conditions for ultrasonic power, extraction temperature, extraction time, and ultrasonic interval time at 400 W, 40°C, 50 min, and 2 s, respectively. Compared with Soxhlet extraction-derived oil (SEO), UAAEO had lower acid (AV), peroxide (PV) and p-anisidine values (PAV) as well as higher polyunsaturated fatty acids contents and thermal stability. Furthermore, UAAEO showed stronger antioxidant activities than those of SEO, according to DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotene bleaching tests. Therefore, UAAE is a promising process for the large-scale production of CB oil and CB has a developing potential as functional oil resource.
Keywords: Clanis bilineata oil; antioxidant activity; fat acid composition; thermal stability; ultrasonic-assisted aqueous extraction.