Roasting-induced modulation of volatile profiles and sensory attributes in edible insect oils

Roasting suppresses off-flavors and generates Maillard-derived notes, improving consumer acceptance. This study investigated how roasting alters the volatile profiles, physicochemical properties, and sensory attributes of oils from five edible insect species. Oils were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction, and optimal roasting conditions (150 °C, 30 min, 0.26 ×g) were identified using response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design. Volatile compounds were analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction arrow coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Method validation confirmed high linearity (R² ≥ 0.9800), recoveries of 90.1-110.0 %, limits of detection of 1.03-62.52 ng/g, and limits of quantification of 3.22-197.38 ng/g. Across all species, roasting promoted the formation of desirable Maillard-derived compounds; 2-pentylfuran appeared exclusively in roasted oils, and total pyrazines increased 10-40-fold compared with unroasted oils. Sensory evaluation indicated higher odor-liking scores from 3.87 to 4.94, associated with approximately 2.5-fold stronger nutty, roasted, grainy, bread-like, and baked notes and 3.4-fold lower sour, spoiled, fishy, and ammonia-like notes. Roasted oils exhibited higher extraction yields than unroasted oils, with acid, peroxide, and iodine values comparable to those of common vegetable oils. In most insect oils, the polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio exceeded 0.45. Notably, L. migratoria and T. molitor oils showed low atherogenic and thrombogenic index. Roasted insect oils exhibited improved volatile profiles, with increased favorable notes such as coffee, and cocoa, thereby enhancing consumer acceptance. This work provides the first comprehensive characterization of roasted edible insect oils and demonstrates that optimized roasting offers a scalable approach to accelerate consumer uptake while advancing nutritional profile in processing.