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All you ever wanted to know about nutrition from insects but where afraid to ask...
"As to protein quality, Finke, DeFoliart and Benevenga (1989) reported that the house cricket [Acheta domesticus (L.)], when fed to weanling rats, was superior to soy protein as a source of amino acids at all levels of intake. The Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex Haldeman), a tettigoniid, was equivalent to soy protein. Other investigators have obtained similar results with a variety of insects in feeding trials with poultry .On the other hand, whole insects as a source of protein are of somewhat lower quality than vertebrate animal products because of the indigestibility of chitin (Phelps, Struthers and Moyo, 1975; Dreyer and Wehmeyer, 1982). Despite this, Dreyer and Wehmeyer conclude that, 'the consumption of mopanie caterpillars [Gonimbrasia belina] can to a substantial degree supplement the predominantly cereal diet with many of the protective nutrients'. Removal of chitin increases the quality of insect protein to a level comparable to that of products from vertebrate animals. Following alkali extraction, the true digestibility of protein concentrate obtained from whole dried adult honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) was increased from 71.5% to 94.3%, the protein efficiency ratio (PER) from 1.50 to 2.47, and the net protein utilization (NPU) from 42.5 to 62.0. This compares with values of 96.8%, 2.50 and 70.0, respectively, for casein (Ozimek et al., 1985). In general, insect protein tends to be low in the amino acids, methionine/cysteine; but it is high in lysine and threonine, one or both of which may be deficient in the wheat, rice, cassava and maize-based diets that are prevalent in the developing world.
Fat
Malnutrition in developing countries is as much, or more, a problem of calorie deficiency as of protein deficiency. Insects vary widely in fat (and, thus, energy) content. Isoptera (termites) and Lepidoptera (caterpillars) rank among the highest in fat. For example, Phelps et al. (1975) reported a calorific value of 761 kcal (~3196kJ)/100g (dry, ash-free, weight basis) for the winged sexual forms of the African termite, Macro- termes falciger Gerstacker, while the winged forms of another African species, Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur were found to contain 613kcal (~2575kJ)/100g (dry weight) (Oliveira et al., 1976). Ashiru (1988) reported a calorific value of 611kcal (~2566kJ)/I00g for the caterpillar Anaphe venata Butler {Notodontidae) in Nigeria. Twenty- three species of caterpillars in Zaire, mostly Saturniidae, were found to average 457 kcal ( ~ 1919 kJ)/100 9 dry weight, ranging from 397 to 543 kcal ( ~ 1667-2281 kJ) (Malaisse and Parent, 1980). Recent analyses of 94 of the insect species consumed in Mexico also yielded high fat and caloric values (Ramos-Elorduy and Pino, 1990). Excluding pork, soybeans [at 4660 kcal ( ~ 19 572 kJ) kg- 1] was the highest ranking non-insect food tested, plant or animal. Maize was found to have a value of 3700 kcal ( ~ 15540 kJ) kg- 1. Of the insects analysed, 50% had a higher caloric value than soybeans; 87% were higher than corn; 63% were higher than beef; 70% were higher than fish, lentils and beans; and 95% were higher than wheat, rye or teosintle. The five highest Lepidoptera (caterpillars) of 16 species examined averaged 6594 (~27695kJ) kg-1; the five highest Coleoptera (beetle grubs) of 17 species examined averaged 5964 kcal ( ~25 049 kJ) kg- 1; the five highest Hemiptera (mixed nymphs and adults) of 14 species examined aver- aged5646kcal(~23713kJ)kg-1;the five highest Hymenoptera (all ants, ranging from adults to immatures) of 24 species examined averaged 5361 kcal ( ~ 22516 kJ) kg- 1; and the five highest Orthoptera (grasshopper nymphs and adults) of 20 species examined averaged 4168 kca1 (~17506kJ)kg-1. Cholesterol levels in insects vary from low (e.g. none in the edible leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes Latr.) to approximately the levels found in other animals ( "'"' 1 mg sterol g- 1 tissue), depending on species and diet (Ritter, 1990). Insect fatty acids are similar to those of poultry and fish in their degree of unsaturation, with some groups being rather higher in linoleic and/or linolenic acids, which are the essential fatty acids (DeFoliart, 1991 )."
http://www.food-insects.com/Insects as Human Food.htm
"As to protein quality, Finke, DeFoliart and Benevenga (1989) reported that the house cricket [Acheta domesticus (L.)], when fed to weanling rats, was superior to soy protein as a source of amino acids at all levels of intake. The Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex Haldeman), a tettigoniid, was equivalent to soy protein. Other investigators have obtained similar results with a variety of insects in feeding trials with poultry .On the other hand, whole insects as a source of protein are of somewhat lower quality than vertebrate animal products because of the indigestibility of chitin (Phelps, Struthers and Moyo, 1975; Dreyer and Wehmeyer, 1982). Despite this, Dreyer and Wehmeyer conclude that, 'the consumption of mopanie caterpillars [Gonimbrasia belina] can to a substantial degree supplement the predominantly cereal diet with many of the protective nutrients'. Removal of chitin increases the quality of insect protein to a level comparable to that of products from vertebrate animals. Following alkali extraction, the true digestibility of protein concentrate obtained from whole dried adult honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) was increased from 71.5% to 94.3%, the protein efficiency ratio (PER) from 1.50 to 2.47, and the net protein utilization (NPU) from 42.5 to 62.0. This compares with values of 96.8%, 2.50 and 70.0, respectively, for casein (Ozimek et al., 1985). In general, insect protein tends to be low in the amino acids, methionine/cysteine; but it is high in lysine and threonine, one or both of which may be deficient in the wheat, rice, cassava and maize-based diets that are prevalent in the developing world.
Fat
Malnutrition in developing countries is as much, or more, a problem of calorie deficiency as of protein deficiency. Insects vary widely in fat (and, thus, energy) content. Isoptera (termites) and Lepidoptera (caterpillars) rank among the highest in fat. For example, Phelps et al. (1975) reported a calorific value of 761 kcal (~3196kJ)/100g (dry, ash-free, weight basis) for the winged sexual forms of the African termite, Macro- termes falciger Gerstacker, while the winged forms of another African species, Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur were found to contain 613kcal (~2575kJ)/100g (dry weight) (Oliveira et al., 1976). Ashiru (1988) reported a calorific value of 611kcal (~2566kJ)/I00g for the caterpillar Anaphe venata Butler {Notodontidae) in Nigeria. Twenty- three species of caterpillars in Zaire, mostly Saturniidae, were found to average 457 kcal ( ~ 1919 kJ)/100 9 dry weight, ranging from 397 to 543 kcal ( ~ 1667-2281 kJ) (Malaisse and Parent, 1980). Recent analyses of 94 of the insect species consumed in Mexico also yielded high fat and caloric values (Ramos-Elorduy and Pino, 1990). Excluding pork, soybeans [at 4660 kcal ( ~ 19 572 kJ) kg- 1] was the highest ranking non-insect food tested, plant or animal. Maize was found to have a value of 3700 kcal ( ~ 15540 kJ) kg- 1. Of the insects analysed, 50% had a higher caloric value than soybeans; 87% were higher than corn; 63% were higher than beef; 70% were higher than fish, lentils and beans; and 95% were higher than wheat, rye or teosintle. The five highest Lepidoptera (caterpillars) of 16 species examined averaged 6594 (~27695kJ) kg-1; the five highest Coleoptera (beetle grubs) of 17 species examined averaged 5964 kcal ( ~25 049 kJ) kg- 1; the five highest Hemiptera (mixed nymphs and adults) of 14 species examined aver- aged5646kcal(~23713kJ)kg-1;the five highest Hymenoptera (all ants, ranging from adults to immatures) of 24 species examined averaged 5361 kcal ( ~ 22516 kJ) kg- 1; and the five highest Orthoptera (grasshopper nymphs and adults) of 20 species examined averaged 4168 kca1 (~17506kJ)kg-1. Cholesterol levels in insects vary from low (e.g. none in the edible leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes Latr.) to approximately the levels found in other animals ( "'"' 1 mg sterol g- 1 tissue), depending on species and diet (Ritter, 1990). Insect fatty acids are similar to those of poultry and fish in their degree of unsaturation, with some groups being rather higher in linoleic and/or linolenic acids, which are the essential fatty acids (DeFoliart, 1991 )."
http://www.food-insects.com/Insects as Human Food.htm
