Evaluating the nutritional composition of edible insects: an alternative source of food supplements in Nagaland

Edible insects are rich sources of macronutrients such as protein, lipid and carbohydrate, and they are considered a promising alternative source of nutrients to alleviate food security.However, the nutritional profiling of edible insects is very limited, highlighting the need to evaluate their potential as a promising source of nutrients.Therefore, the present study was conducted to assess the nutrient composition of nine commonly consumed edible insects in their fresh, fried and roasted forms, as well as to examine the variations across development stages (larva, pupa and adult) of Provespa barthelemyi.The results showed that protein concentrations varied significantly (F (2) = 293.8,p < 0.05) among fresh, fried and roasted forms.Lipid content ranged from 0.01 0.00 (Laccotrephes ruber) to 0.5 0.06 (Samia cynthia ricini) in fresh, 1.09 0.08 (Tarbinskiellus portentosus) to 1.27 0.08 (Cossus spp.) in fried, and 0.4 0.0 (Mecapoda nipponensis) to 1.3 0.0 (Oecophylla smaragdina) in roasted form.While carbohydrate content ranged from 0.2 0.0 (L.ruber) to 5.8 0.5 (O.smaragdina) in fresh, 0.6 0.0 (Lethocerus indicus) to 12.17 3.78 (Cossus spp.) in fried, and 0.5 0.3 (L.indicus) to 13.1 3.8 (Cossus spp.) in roasted form.Across the developmental stages of P. barthelemyi, the highest amount of protein, lipid and carbohydrate was present in the larval stage.Further, eight essential and nine non-essential amino acids were also present in edible insects.Insects such as O. smaragdina and P. barthelemyi have moderate to high levels of both essential and non-essential amino acids, such as leucine, phenylalanine, alanine, glycine and proline, suggesting they can serve as a well-rounded protein source for humans.The present study highlighted that edible insects are compelling food supplements that can serve as a promising alternative source of nutrients.