Tenebrio molitor beetles have been widely used in traditional and folklore medicines to treat various human diseases worldwide. This study was performed to determine radical scavenging activity of nine compounds that were extracted from T. molitor adults and their 64 related compounds using a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. The results were compared with those of three positive controls, ascorbic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Based on IC50 values, linolenic acid (77.65 μM) was the most potent antioxidant and the antioxidant activity of this compound was higher than that of either ascorbic acid, BHT or EGCG. The antioxidant activity of protocatechuic acid (IC50, 153.68 μM) and ascorbic acid did not differ significantly. The antioxidant activity of catechin (IC50, 192.32 μM) was higher than that of either BHT or EGCG. Multiple regression analysis of the antioxidant activities of compounds was examined using their IC50 values and the values of the physical parameters (molecular weight (MW), log P, and molecular refraction (MR)) for the 41 fatty acids (R2 = 0.729 (P = 0.031)) and 29 flavonoids (R2 = 0.521 (P = 0.054)). Correlation coefficient (r) analysis showed that MW, log P, and MR may be positively correlated with IC50 of the fatty acids (MW, r = 0.743; log P, r = 0.642; and MR, r = 0.815) and IC50 of the flavonoids (MW, r = 0.642; log P, r = 0.495; and MR, r = 0.643). Further studies will warrant possible applications of T. molitor adults as an antioxidant.

• Yizhe Cheng(Donggang Biological Foundation, Yeongwol, Gangwon)
• Haribalan Perumalsamy(Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Byung Joon Kim(Donggang Biological Foundation, Yeongwol, Gangwon)
• Young-Joon Ahn(Yeongwol Insect Industry Promotion Project, Yeongwol, Gangwon)