Eating insects has been a widespread habit in many cultures for many years. Edible insects represent an innovative food source with many advantages that will help the problem of protein and energy shortages created by the rapid growth of the world population. Using insects as food can increase the economy and help protect the environment and the human survival. Their nutritional value is excellent, since according to many studies insects have high protein content, high concentrations of various essential amino acids, a well‐balanced fatty acid profile, with a high content of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fatty acids and many minerals, trace elements, and vitamins. However, there are several risks in the use of edible insects, which need to be researched more extensively. Main goals are to spread knowledge and change the process of obtaining edible insects in better and safer ways. So that the edible insect food industry can develop on a solid basis, through the expansion of the composition of the insects already used and the future legalization of new species of edible insects as well as the establishment of additional legislative frameworks for the breeding, development, processing, storage, and safety of these innovative new foods.

Science and food industry must strive to ensure and improve edible insect's benefits, and especially their safety and nutritional value. This study investigated how various food substrates used in the rearing of Tenebrio molitor larvae influence their growth, the safety of the larvae, and the nutritional quality of the resulting flour. The main findings indicate that all samples showed significant differences in their nutritional profile, larval characteristics, and heavy metal content. Regarding the content of protein, fat and fiber it ranges from 44.1 to 51.8 %, 28.6–34.8 % and 10.5–14.9 %, respectively. These results suggest that insect diet is a very crucial parameter that can affect all that factors and must be taken into account, especially when they are intended as raw materials to be used for food production.

Polyphenols are present in many plants and herbs, and the scientific community and consumers are aware of their health-promoting effects. Plants of Greek origin were studied for their polyphenol content and their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector (HPLC–DAD) were used for the identification and characterization of plant polyphenols. For GC–MS, a silylation procedure was employed. Ferulic acid, quercetin, and catechin were the most abundant polyphenols. The Rancimat test, FRAP (Ferric-reducing Antioxidant power) assay, and DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay were used to study the antioxidant capacity, which was proven for all studied plants. The antimicrobial activity was studied against specific pathogenic microorganisms. Pelargonium purpureum and Sideritis scardica plant extracts inhibited most microorganisms such as L. monocytogenes and E. coli. Extracts of studied plants showed both antioxidant and antimicrobial activities; hence, they can be considered to be used by the food industry.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the key quality characteristics of olive oil with a main focus on the biophenolic content, its beneficial effects on health and the contribution of various quality characteristics to its health claims, as well as its influence from various parameters. Samples from different traditional oil-producing regions of Greece were initially examined for the most important quality parameters, such as the percentage of free acidity, the number of peroxides and the spectrophotometric investigation in the ultraviolet. The samples were then tested for their biophenolic content, expressed in milligrams of tyrosol, and its derivatives per 20 g of olive oil using the analytical technique high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Then, the biophenol contents of the analyzed samples were compared based on the presented intensities in terms of the variety and the area of cultivation, the altitude, the type of cultivation, the extraction system in the mill and the time interval from olive harvest to oiling. Finally, according to the results, the content of biophenols in olive oil and its health claims were found to be influenced by the various parameters with which they were compared.

Organic agriculture and regulated deficit irrigation (DI) are popular strategies for sustainable agricultural production. The present study investigated organically and conventionally cultivated Urtica dioica (L.) under different irrigation regimes (full and deficit irrigation) in the yield, physiology, phytochemical profile, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic properties under two harvestings periods. Deficit irrigation reduced plant development and yield, but raised dry matter content, especially in plants in organic cultivation. Plants adapted to DI with stomatal closure, while organically grown plants had decreased minerals content, with more profound effects at first harvesting. Plants grown in organic cultivation stimulated hydroxytyrosol and suppressed Rutin levels, compared to conventionally full irrigated plants at the first harvesting. At the second harvesting, Fraxin levels were stimulated, while hydroxytyrosol, chlorogenic acid, and citric acid were decreased with the DI treatment. The DI increased total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidants, especially at the first harvest. Plants grown under conventional cultivation had stronger antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. However, plants grown under organic cultivation had stronger cytotoxic properties against two human colorectal cancer cell lines, with more profound effects with the DI applications. Both organic agriculture and DI stimulated biocidal properties with new insights on cultivation management for U. dioica.

This study investigated whether black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFL; Hermetia illucens L.) produced on polyphenol-rich agro-industrial by-products could enhance broiler meat lipid quality and oxidative stability during refrigerated storage. A total of 200 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were allocated to five dietary treatments: control diet, 5% standard full-fat BSFL meal, 10% standard full-fat BSFL meal, 10% full-fat BSFL meals produced on olive leaf and spent tea residues, and 10% defatted BSFL meal. Compared with standard full-fat BSFL meal, the olive leaf–spent tea BSFL meal showed markedly higher total phenolic content (6.74 vs. 1.82 mg GAE/g DM), DPPH radical-scavenging activity (54.80 vs. 22.40%) and ABTS antioxidant capacity (38.20 vs. 15.60 umol TE/g DM), together with lower peroxide value (1.46 vs. 2.38 meq O₂/kg lipid) and TBARS (0.24 vs. 0.39 mg MDA/kg meal). Also, when compared with 10% standard full-fat BSFL meal, the olive leaf–spent tea BSFL meal improved final body weight (2592.8 vs. 2511.6 g) and feed conversion ratio (1.53 vs. 1.58). Breast meat from this group contained higher oleic acid (40.52 vs. 37.48%) and a-linolenic acid (1.72 vs. 1.29%), while showing a lower n-6/n-3 ratio (11.81 vs. 14.49) and thrombogenicity index (0.78 vs. 0.92). After 10 days of refrigerated storage, breast meat from birds fed the polyphenol-enriched BSFL meal showed markedly lower oxidative deterioration, as indicated by reduced TBARS values (0.60 vs. 1.12 mg MDA/kg), protein carbonyl formation (2.16 vs. 3.35 nmol/mg protein) and hexanal abundance (5.10 vs. 11.90 a.u.; internal-standard-normalized peak area). This treatment also better-preserved redness, as reflected by higher CIE values (3.52 vs. 2.40), compared to the control group. Overall, these results suggest that substrate-tailored BSFL meal may serve as a functional feed ingredient for improving the lipid quality of broilers’ breast meat and delaying oxidation-driven quality deterioration during refrigerated storage.