Macronutrient Composition of Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus sp.) Edible Insect in Mexico and Thailand

Melo-Ruíz, Virginia; Moreno-Bonett, Consuelo; Sánchez-Herrera, Karina; Díaz-García, Rafael; Gazga-Urioste, César

doi:10.17265/2161-6256/2016.05.007

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Water bugs are also consumed in Thailand, where they are quite popular and are commonly seen in the little street vendors in Bangkok. After being roasted and garnished with a hot sauce, they are eaten whole (Melo‐Ruíz et al., 2016). Huge adult beetles from the families of Lucanidae , Scarabaeidae , Cerambycidae , Chrysomelidae , Dytiscidae , and Buprestidae are typically eaten roasted.…”

Section: Nine Strategies To Enhance Consumers’ Acceptability Of Edibl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How to enhance the acceptability of insects food—A review

Okaiyeto,

Yu,

Deng

et al. 2024

Food Frontiers

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

About 1 billion people worldwide suffer from hunger, so exploring new food sources is very tempting for achieving zero hunger in the world. Edible insects (EIs) may be one of the ways to solve human protein deficiency. Currently, more than 200 species of EIs are consumed by over 2.5 billion people, especially in tropical regions, as part of their regular diets. However, there is still a large rejection in various parts of the world. In this review, we systematically summarize the factors behind the rejection of EIs as well as ways to improve the acceptability of EIs as alternative protein, essential vitamins, and mineral sources. The main goal of this research is to spread the knowledge of the benefits of eating EIs, consumer perception of insects, and enhance its acceptability as an alternative food. Sensory attributes, health‐related concerns, and sustainability issues are identified as the key factors affecting consumer acceptability of EIs. Conventional processing methods, such as blanching, drying, roasting, and fermentation, have been used in treating EIs to improve the quality and safety of EIs. Nine strategies were proposed to enhance the acceptability of insects as food, such as promoting food safety, encouraging product development, addressing cultural norms, enhancing the culinary experience, collaborating with restaurants, and increasing public awareness through education. The information in this work will shed more light on the consumption of EIs and pave the way for more research in this area.

show abstract

Section: Nine Strategies To Enhance Consumers’ Acceptability Of Edibl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

How to enhance the acceptability of insects food—A review

Okaiyeto,

Yu,

Deng

et al. 2024

Food Frontiers

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They contain chitin in the range of 3.8%–4.5% dry weight ( Chinarak et al, 2020 ). Melo-Ruíz et al (2016) found that giant water bug ( Lethocerus sp.) consisted of fat and protein contents at 8.15 g/100 g (dry sample) and 53.11 g/100 g (dry sample), respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fatty Acid Profile and Thermal Behavior of Fat-Rich Edible Insect Oils Compared to Commonly Consumed Animal and Plant Oils

Chantakun,

Petcharat,

Wattanachant

et al. 2024

Food Sci Anim Resour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study compared the physicochemical properties of edible insect oils from silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupa (SP), sago palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) larva (PW), and bamboo caterpillar (Omphisa fuscidentalis) (BC) to oils from chicken skin (CK), beef back fat (BF), pork back fat (PF), salmon belly (SB), sea bass belly (BB), coconut (C), and peanut (P). The fatty acid profiles and thermal behaviors (crystallization and melting) of the extracted oils were evaluated. PW and BC oils had more saturated fatty acids (SFAs) than CK, PF, SB, BB, and P oils. SP oil had equivalent SFA content to CK and BB oils. Insect oils exhibited similar monounsaturated fatty acid concentrations in all samples, except C oils. PW and BC oils exhibited a higher content of palmitoleic acid than the other oils. SP oils contained polyunsaturated fatty acids similar to those in SB and BB oils, which were higher than those in PW, BC, CK, BF, and PF oils. SP oil also exhibited the highest concentration of α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3). ARA (0.01-0.02 g/100g) in all insect oils was lower level compared to CK, BF, PF, SB, and BB oils. SP oil (0.03 g/100g) exhibited a slightly higher level of EPA compared to PW (0.01 g/100g) and BC (0.01 g/100g) oils. The insect oils were liquid at ambient temperature, solid below −15 ℃, and required less energy (∆Hm-max) for melting than other samples. This study indicated that insects, particularly SP, could serve as an alternative source of fat to meet its growing demand.

show abstract

“…Lethocerus indicus , (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) is one of the edible gigantic water bug insects and has long been a crucial flavoring agent in Manipur and Thailand. In contrast to female insects, male insects are well known for their flavor and odor [ 3 , 4 ]. Edible insects have become the source of future feed and food due to their beneficial nutritional characteristics and low environmental impact [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Edible insects have become the source of future feed and food due to their beneficial nutritional characteristics and low environmental impact [ 5 ]. It is also safe and healthy for humans to eat insects as food [ 3 ]. It was predicted and hoped that malnutrition challenges may be resolved by providing 10% of the protein from insect sources rather than other meat sources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional properties of giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus a traditional edible insect species of North-East India

Devi,

Ummalyma,

Brockmann

et al. 2023

Bioengineered

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Edible insects play an important role in human health and food security. Among those, the Giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus (Lep.& Ser.) is a widely used edible insect known for its aroma, flavor, and therapeutic purposes. In the present study, we investigated the nutritional profile, natural habitat, and feeding behavior of L. indicus in aquarium conditions. A comparative analysis of male and female insects’ aroma contents and fatty acid (FA) profiles was also conducted. A dry fried male insect yielded volatile oil of 0.96%/2 g body weight, whereas a dry fried female yielded 0.48%/5.36 g of body weight. In terms of lipids, fresh male insects had 0.15%/5.42 g of body weight and fresh female insects had 0.28%/9.48 g of body weight. There are 24 volatile compounds specific to males, 37 specific to females, and 13 commons to both were identified. 2-Hexen-1-ol, acetate, (Z)- which smells like banana, was prevalently found in males while 4-Octene, 2,6-dimethyl-, [S-(Z)] was prevalently found in female insects. Fatty acids profile analysis detected 32 FA with 12 unique FA from males whereas 22 FA and 3 unique FA were identified from female insects. The SFA percentage present in males and females was 77.44% and 85.21%. Males had 6.78% MUFA content while females have 4.75%. Males have 18% PUFA content enriched with DHA, and EPA, while females had 10.04%. This study revealed that with the presence of a banana-like smell of volatile compound and more MUFA and PUFA in males, the native people of North-East India preferred male over female insects for entomophagy.

show abstract

Macronutrient Composition of Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus sp.) Edible Insect in Mexico and Thailand

Cited by 7 publications

References 9 publications

How to enhance the acceptability of insects food—A review

How to enhance the acceptability of insects food—A review

Fatty Acid Profile and Thermal Behavior of Fat-Rich Edible Insect Oils Compared to Commonly Consumed Animal and Plant Oils

Nutritional properties of giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus a traditional edible insect species of North-East India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About