Abstract

In searching for new sources of oil, protein and gelatin researchers have investigated many wild plants, but our research group took a different approach: We looked at insects as oil, protein and gelatin source for both nutritional and industrial applications. According to Sudanese indigenous knowledge, many insects have food and medicinal uses. We targeted two of these insects for our research:Aspongopus vidiuatus(melon bug) and Agonoscelis pubescens(sorghum bug). The two insects showed 27.0% and 28.2% crude protein, 45% and 60% oil, respectively. The oils contained 46.5% and 40.9% oleic acid, 3.4% and 34.5% linoleic acid, 44.2% and 12.1% palmitic acid and traces of linolenic acid,respectively. The tocopherol content of theseoils amounted to 0.3 and 34.0 mg/100g oil, respectively. The total content of sterols in the two oils was 17 and 450 mg/100g oil, respectively, whereasβ-sitosterol was determined as the main compound in all oils with about 60% of the totalsterol. The oxidative stability of the oils, asmeasured by the Rancimat test at 120°C, was 38 and 5.1 h, respectively. Edible gelatin was extracted from the two insect using hot water and mild acid and distilled water. SDS-PAGE patterns ofthe insect gelatins had very low molecularweight chains, and the two gelatins contained 40 kDa asmain component, differential scanning calorimetry results confirmed the difference betweenextraction methods concerning the extracted gelatin quality. FTIR spectra of melon and sorghum bug gelatins were similar and the absorption bands were situated in more than 6 bands in melon bug gelatin and only 6 bands in sorghum bug gelatin. Microstructures of the insect gelatinexamined with the scanning electron microscope showed that melon bug exhibited the finest gelatin network with very small voids. Melon bug gelatin showed the finer structure with smallerprotein strands and voids than sorghum buggelatin. Ice cream was made by using 0.5% insect’sgelatine and compared with that made using 0.5%commercial gelatine as stabilizing agent. The properties of the obtained ice cream produced using insects gelatine were found to be acceptable for the panelists, and no significant differences between ice cream made using insect gelatine when compared with that made using commercial gelatine in their general preferences The behavior of the crude Sorghum bug oil during deep-frying of par-fried potatoes was studied with regard to chemical, physical, and sensory parameters, such as the content ofFFA, tocopherols, polar compounds, oligomerTG, volatile compounds, oxidative stability, and totaloxidation (TOTOX) value. The results showed that the oil was suitable for deep-frying of potatoes. The oxidative stability of sunflower kernel oil was improved by blending with melon bug oil, the oxidative stability in the Rancimat test was improved from 5% to 68% compared to the control, with increasing parts of MBO, respectively. The insect oils were transesterified using methanol or ethanol in the presence of sulfuricacid to obtain biodiesel. The obtained insectbiodiesel characteristics were studied in accordance with the DIN EN 14214 specifications for biodiesel. It was possible to prepare the methyl and ethyl esters catalyzed by H2SO4 from the two insect oils.

Highlights

  • Grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, winged termites, bees, wasps and a variety of aquatic insects are used somewhere OPEN ACCESSA

  • The fatty acid composition determined by gas chromatography in A. viduatus and A. pubescens oils is oleic (45.53% and 41.15%), linoleic (4.90% and 35.21%) and palmitic (31.33% and 11.41%) acid, with 37.9% and 20.5% of saturated fatty acids, respectively [2]

  • No change in the fatty acid composition of insect oils was observed during processing using laboratory refining equipment [10]

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, winged termites, bees, wasps and a variety of aquatic insects are used somewhere. Such oils include the major cooking oils—soybean, canola, sunflower, safflower, peanut, cottonseed, etc Tropical oils, such as coconut, palm, and rice bran oils, are valued in Asian cultures for high temperature cooking, because of their unusually high flash point [4] (http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001708.html). According to their indigenous knowledge, Sudanese used many insects as food and medicine. The sorghum bug commonly known in Sudan as Dura andat is belong to family Pentatomidae, shield-shaped, about 11 - 13 mm long, and 6 - 7 mm wide Both the upper- and undersides of its body are covered with a fine silvery pubescence after which it is named (Agonoscelis pubescens). In some areas of Sudan, the collected bugs are pressed, and the expressed oil is used for cooking and some medicinal purposes [7]

Fatty Acids
Tocopherols and Sterols
Protein
Gelatin
FOOD USES OF INSECTS
Findings
INDUSTRIAL USES OF INSECT OIL
Full Text
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