Abstract
The objective of this paper is to present the beneficial aspects of some insects consumed in sub-Saharan Africa, based on examples of insects consumed in Cameroon, to present their potential as sources of lipids and essential fatty acids. In Africa, termites, larvae of raphia weevil, caterpillars, crickets, bees, maggots, butterflies, weevil, etc. are significant sources of food. These insects belong mainly to the orders of : Isoptera, Orthoptera, Dictyoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. Depending on the species, insects are rich in proteins, minerals (K, Ca, Mg, Zn, P, Fe) and/or vitamins (thiamine/B1, riboflavine/B2, pyridoxine/B6, acid pantothenic, niacin). The composition of oils extracted from the following six insects consumed in Cameroon was investigated : larvaes of raphia weevil (Rhynchophorus phoenicis), crickets (Homorocoryphus nitidulus), grasshopper (Zonocerus variegates), termites (Macrotermes sp.), a variety of caterpillars (Imbrasia sp.) and an unidentified caterpillar from the forest (UI carterpillar). The extraction yields of oil were 53.75%, 67.25%, 9.12%, 49.35%, 24.44% and 20.17% respectively for raphia weevil larvae, crickets, devastating crickets, termites, Imbrasia and UI caterpillar. The oil from raphia weevil mainly contains 37.60% of palmitoleic acid and 45.46% of linoleic acid. The oil from crickets is principally made up of palmitoleic acid (27.59%), linoleic acid (45.63%) and α-linolenic acid (16.19%). The oil from grasshoppers is composed of palmitoleic acid (23.83%), oleic acid (10.71%), linoleic acid (21.07%), α-linolenic acid (14.76%) and γ-linolenic acid (22.54%). The main components of termite oil are : palmitic acid (30.47%), oleic acid (47.52%) and linoleic acid (8.79%). Palmitic acid (36.08%) and linolenic acid (38.01%) are the two dominant fatty acids of Imbrasia oil. As Imbrasia oil, UI caterpillar oil is composed of palmitic acid (30.80%) and linolenic acid (41.79%). Stearic acid (7.04%), oleic acid (8.56%) and linoleic acid (6.59%) are also present. These results show that these insects are considerable sources of fat. Their oils are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which essential fatty acids are linoleic and linolenic acids. The ratio PUFA/SFA, in the majority of cases is higher than 0.8, associated with desirable levels of cholesterol.
Highlights
Insects are known to constitute more than 76% of the animal kingdom [1]
The composition of oils extracted from the following six insects consumed in Cameroon was investigated: Raphia weevil (Rhynchophorus phoennicis); Crickets (Homorocoryphus nitidulus); Grasshopper (Zonocerus variegates); Termites (Macrotermes sp.); a variety of caterpillars
These crude fat contents are more than 50% greater than the lipid range of 1.5 to 31.40%, previously reported for various forms of lepidopterous coleopterous and Orthopterous edible insects from south western Nigeria [22] and are similar or fall within the lipid range of 4.2-77.2% previously reported for seventy eight forms of edible insects from the State of Oaxaca, Mexico [37, 38] The caterpillars (Imbrasia or unidentified one) have lipid contents of about 20%, which is similar to the range mentioned by literature
Summary
Insects are known to constitute more than 76% of the animal kingdom [1]. There exist in Africa, more than 500 species of insects used as food by the indigenous population and play a significant role in the history of the nutrition. Caterpillars and termites (winged adults) are the insects most consumed and marketed in Africa, but many other kinds or species are locally important, whether for economic reasons, ecological or nutritional. Nkangala, Lucazi, Luvale, Cokwe and Yauma estimated that termites (adults of Macrotermes sp.) constituted the best foods, were more delicious than meat or fish and only some species of caterpillars could be compared to them [26].
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