Comparative Studies of the Nutritional Composition of Some Insect Orders (Published)
Insects are nutrient packed food resources for mankind and livestock. Food profile of Four (4) insects belonging to the Order; Lepidoptera (Cirina forda Westwood), Blattodea (Periplanata americana L), Coleoptera (Rhynchophorus phoenicis F) and Orthoptera (Zonocerus variegatus L) were analyzed according to standard measures and the results obtained showed that C. forda had the highest protein content (74.56%). The protein content of Z. variegatus was 69.52% while P. americana had 70.58% and the least value of 24.58% was obtained in R. phoenicis. Fat content was highest in R. phoenicis (46.56%) while in Z. variegatus, the value obtained was (16.24%). However, the values obtained in C. forda (8.77%) and P. americana (8.53%) compares favourably. Ash content was low in Z. variegatus (3.21%) and P. americana (3.24%) while the values obtained in R. phoenicis (6.21%) and C. forda (5.32%) compares favourably. The fibre content of R. phoenicis was the highest (7.55%) while the least value was obtained in Z. variegatus (2.42%). The values of carbohydrate in the insects are P. americana (9.44%), R. phoenicis (6.59%), Z. variegatus (3.84%) and C. forda (3.70%) respectively. Moisture content was highest in R. phoenicis (8.53%) while the values obtained in other study insects compared favourably. All the insects are good sources of mineral salts among which are Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Manganese and Phosphorus. Copper was not detected in any of the insects. The highest value of iron (9.25 mg/100g) was obtained in R. phoenicis while the least value was obtained in P. americana (5.68 mg/100g). Of all the insects sampled, R. phoenicis obtained the highest values in all the minerals. The result shows that all the minerals investigated are consistently higher in R. phoenicis than in all other insects. All the insects had anti-nutrients such as tannin, polyphenol, phytate, oxalate, saponin, alkaloids and flavonoids at tolerant quantities.
Keywords: Arthropods, Insects, Minerals, Nutrient Composition, Periplaneta Americana, Tannin