Honeybee queen larvae (QL), the byproduct of royal jelly (RJ) production, have not been fully utilized as a food resource.
Proteins in QLwere characterized by gel electrophoresis and identified bymatrix-assisted laser desorption/
ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of fatty acid and sterol composition
in QL and RJ were performed. The molecularweight of proteins in QLwas generally lower than those in RJ. QL
were dominated by major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1) and MRJP2 as well as their degradation proteins. High
amounts of triacylglycerols (797.5 mg/g lipid) and phospholipids (89.8 mg/g lipid)were presented in QL,whereas
themain fatty acids in RJwere composed of freemiddle carbon chain fatty acids (N91%). Twelve sterolswere identified
and clerosterol, Δ7-sitosterol and cycloartenol were reported for the first time in QL. Noteworthy, little difference
was observed in the sterol profiles of QL and RJ. Sterols were found to be integrated with MRJP1
oligomer in QL and RJ. This study provides newinsight into the nutritional values of QL. The results suggest overall
that proteins and lipids of QL compare favorably with those of RJ and could be potential used in food industry.