Ethnoentomological Values of Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius)

Abstract

Adult worker ants and brood of Oecophylla smaragdina are a delicacy in the food of tribal groups residing in the forests of Wayanadu and Kasaragod districts of Kerala, India. These tribes use the crushed body of worker ants to make a sauce which is sour. Adult worker ants possess high formic acid (FA) content in their abdominal poison gland reservoir. Oecophylla brood has no traces of FA, but possesses all the essential amino acids, especially tryptophan, leucine, threonine, methionine and lysine in high concentration. Brood also has high carbohydrate content and very low lipid content. Carbohydrate, protein and lipid exist in a ratio 5 : 2.5 : 1 on wet weight basis. Brood is a rich source of retinol, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, thiamine, niacin and riboflavin, which are present at several times higher concentration than that of the egg of domestic fowl. Among various minerals tested, Na, P, Ca and Mg were present in very high concentration. The tribes made medicated oil using hot extraction of crushed worker ants to treat inflammation of joints and skin infections. Whole-body aqueous extract of worker ants has been shown to have significant antioxidant and anti-arthritic properties. Abdominal gland secretion showed anti-microbial activity against six bacterial and two fungal strains. GC-MS analysis of abdominal glands (Dufour's gland and poison gland) revealed the presence of 39 chemical compounds.