Proximal chemical evaluation and fatty acid in the chicatana ant and jumile

Abstract

In the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, the chicatana ant (Atta mexicana) and jumile (Edessa spp.) are foods that the population regularly consumes and are alternative sources of nutrients. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the proximal chemical composition (moisture, protein, lipids, ash and carbohydrates) and fatty acids (FA) in commercialised dehydrated chicatana ant and jumile using instrumental methods such as refractive index (RI) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Protein and lipids were predominant in chicatana ant and jumile (33.74% and 39.25%, and 32.00% and 39.00%, respectively). In insect oils, RI and GC-MS results demonstrated that chicatana ant oil contains a high saturated FA percentage (58.40%), with heneicosanoic acid (C21:0) being the predominant saturated FA (46.35%), while jumile oil presented a higher percentage of unsaturated acids (99.27%), with γ-linolenic acid being the predominant unsaturated FA (77.00%). Therefore, both insects are foods with important protein and FA percentage, with jumile containing a higher concentration of unsaturated FA, which is desirable in the diet.