Insect vs animal protein for building muscle / GAINZ study version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of insect vs animal protein on post-exercise skeletal muscle anabolic response and chronic adaption to resistance training
IRAS ID
358343
Contact name
James Rutherford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 3 days
Research summary
A global shift towards sustainable food sources is now emerging, largely due to the immense environmental pressure that comes from producing animal foods, particularly beef. Insects present a novel source of sustainable dietary protein due to their high protein content. This is particularly relevant for population groups that have greater protein requirements such as older adults, as protein becomes increasingly more important in later life. It helps to maintain muscle as we age, which is crucial for reducing frailty, falls and early mortality. We want to find out more about the anabolic potential of insect protein in healthy well-trained people to see if it could be a beneficial source of protein to help increase muscle mass and strength. We are interested in the use of insect-based solid foods, especially the use of flour made from grounded whole crickets. We want to explore the skeletal muscle anabolic response after exercise and consumption of cricket protein compared to a commonly used animal alternative (whey protein) to find out if cricket protein can robustly stimulate muscle protein synthesis in the same manner as whey. We also want to investigate the impact of cricket protein supplementation on muscle hypertrophy and strength when combined with regular resistance exercise training over a chronic period (12 weeks).
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0524
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion