Belgian Grasshoppers: A Nutritious Food Source
Paul, A.1*, Frederich, M.2, Blecker, C.1, Haubruge, E.1, Francis, F.1, Caparros Medigo, R.1, Uttyenbroeck, R.1,Taofic, A.1, Heuskin, S.1, Lognay, G.1 & Danthine, S.1
1 Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Passage des Deportes-2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium
2 Department of Pharmacy, University of Liege, B36 Pharmacognosie, Avenue de l`Hopital 1, B-4000 Liege, Belgium * paul.aman@ulg.ac.be
Introduction
Need for Alternate Sources ofProtein Entomophagy Rapid Urbanization Teaming Millions Africa (524) Asia (349) America (679) Europe (41) Australia (152)
Edible Insect Species Overview
31% 18% 14% 13% 24% Beetles Caterpillars
Bees, Ants and Wasps
Grasshoppers, Locusts and Crickets Others
Percentage share of different insect groups Why me?
Nutrition Nutritionally superior to
conventional meats
Health - Lower risk of zoonotic
infections -Traditionally used in medications
Environment
- Lesser greenhouse gases emission during
production
- Some species feed on dead organic material
Material and Methods
Lipid extraction was done by a cold extraction technique using 2:1 chloroform/methanol as solvent Lipids (Dry weight)
Protein estimation from the residual mass left
after lipid extraction was done using dumas
method
Proteins
Thermal profile was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry Q1000 DSC connected to refrigerated cooling system Thermal Profile of
Lipids Fatty Acid Profile
Fatty acid compositions were determined by GC on a HP 6890 Series GC System fitted with a HP 7683 Series injector and
flame ionization
Samples
Grasshoppers caught from local fields
Chorthippus parallelus Conocephalus discolor
Reared in cages to obtain eggs
After laying these
grasshoppers were used for analysis
Conocephalus discolor turns cannibal during
caged breeding
Eggs kept at room
temperature followed by breaking diapause at 5°C
Hatchings obtained (still juvenile)
Results and Discussion
%
Chorthippus
parallelus
Conocephalus
discolor
Lipids
6.90
13.07
Proteins
77.80 ± 0.27
78.42 ± 0.17
Thermal Profile of Lipids
C 16:0 C 16:1 C 18:0 C 18:1 C 18:2 n6 C 18:3 n3 C 20:3 n3 Others Conocephalus discolor 10.56 1.9 7.55 20.41 53.58 2.28 1.09 9.02 Chorthippus parallelus 0 0 9.74 16.02 14.48 50 0 9.76 0 10 20 30 40 50 60%
% Fatty Acid Composition
Conclusion
1. Grasshoppers are already consumed as foods in many parts of world.
2. Besides being nutritionally rich, they are also used as medication is some parts of world and there consumption is also supported by environmentalist.
3. With this amount of proteins and a fatty acid profile with dominant polyunsaturated fatty acids, they can be a potential future food to meet the needs of teaming millions.
4. Further research is required in establishing commercial breeding protocols and effect of specialized diet to improve food quality so that a substantial amount of biomass can be generated to encourage them as human foods.
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