Advances in edible insect-derived polysaccharides: Isolation, structure-activity insights, and prospects for...

Edible insects are gaining recognition as sustainable sources of food and bioactive compounds. Although most studies have focused on insect proteins, recent research identifies insect-derived polysaccharides as multifunctional macromolecules with health-promoting potential. This review provides the first comprehensive summary of evidence-based studies on edible-insect polysaccharides published over the past decade. We examine extraction and purification strategies, emphasizing the critical role of deproteinization in distinguishing polysaccharide-driven effects from protein or glycoprotein contributions. Documented biological activities, including antioxidant defense mechanisms, immunomodulatory signaling pathways, antiviral protection, and gut microbiota-mediated metabolic benefits, are systematically reviewed. Structure-activity relationships, particularly the roles of uronic acids, galactose and mannose residues, and molecular weight distributions, are highlighted. Despite promising findings, significant methodological inconsistencies and limited species coverage exists. Most studies lack detailed structural characterization and rigorous in vivo validation, and many reports describe biological activities from crude extracts rather than purified polysaccharide fractions. Overall, available evidence positions insect polysaccharides as a promising class of bioactive carbohydrates with substantial potential for functional foods, nutraceuticals, immunotherapy, and antiviral applications. Future progress will depend on standardized, eco-friendly processing methods, robust safety validation, and deeper structure-function analyses to enable their translation from experimental studies into regulatory-approved, health-promoting ingredients.