Abstract
Imbrasia truncata and I. epimethea caterpillars were evaluated as dietary protein and lipid sources. They contained approximately 7.0 g/100 g fresh weight (FW) of lipids and 20.0 g/100 g FW of proteins calculed with determined nitrogen to protein conversion factors: 6.01 ± 0.21 and 6.27 ± 0.15 for I. truncata and I. epimethea, respectively. Unsaturated fatty acids represented about 2.63 ± 0.21 g/100 g FW for I. truncata and 3.24 ± 0.21 g/100 g FW for I. epimethea, with α-linolenic acid as major fatty acid (around 1.88 ± 0.15 g/100 g FW for I. truncata 2.17 ± 0.13 g/100 g FW for I. epimethea) and very low n-6/n-3 ratios: 0.15 (I. truncata) and 0.27 (I. epimethea). Polar lipids (phospholipids and glycolipids + sulfolipids), representing between 4 and 6% of lipids, contained little amounts of arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6). The major tocopherol isomer was α−tocopherol in I. truncata (0.52 ± 0.08 g/100 g FW) and γ−tocopherol in I. epimethea (1.00 ± 0.08 g/100 g FW). The proteins of both insect included all indispensable amino acids at amounts (mg/g protein) higher than the indispensable amino acid requirement patterns recommended by WHO/FAO/UNU (2007). In conclusion, Imbrasia caterpillars exhibit a great nutritional potential due to the presence of good quality proteins and healthy fat
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