Dietary impact of agri‐food by‐products on the volatile composition of Tenebrio molitor larvae

BACKGROUND: Incorporating Tenebrio molitor larvae as ingredients in common foods is a promising strategy to encourage their consumption. To achieve this, knowing their volatile profile and the factors that may modify the profile is essential. The effect of larval feeding over volatile composition remains under-researched, for this reason; the aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of different feeding substrates on T. molitor larvae volatile profile. RESULTS: Volatile compounds from both substrates and crushed larvae were determined by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) followed by untargeted data processing. The larvae fed with leaves of olive trees exhibited peak area values higher for most compounds than the other samples, indicating that feed substrates significantly affect the larvae's volatile composition. Furthermore, 20 compounds detected in both the feeding substrates and the larvae showed a direct correlation. Three of these - elemicin, myristicin, and lavender lactone - which are of plant origin, were detected for the first time in T. molitor larvae, suggesting through ingestion. CONCLUSION: The feeding substrates provide both volatile compounds and their precursors. Therefore, the choice of feed for T. molitor larvae is important not only to modify their nutritional composition but also their volatile profile. © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.