Investigating dietary fibre with a focus on insect chitin: extraction, characterization, enzymatic hydrolysis, and effect on gut microbiota

This PhD thesis deal with dietary fibre extraction and characterization. A protocol allowing the fibre fractionation and subsequent analysis was developed. Knowledge of its composition allows the evaluation of beneficial effects and functional properties. The fibre definition includes chitin, an indigestible fibre found in crustaceans and insects. Chitin cannot be quantified like other fibre and therefore a separate method was developed. Furthermore, its extraction is more complex. We tested different conditions to obtain purer chitin from insects, and then hydrolysing it to chitooligosaccharides with greater applications. The behaviour of insects, being recently approved as Novel Food, was evaluated during digestion and fermentation.