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Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content of Edible Insec
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content of Edible Insec
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ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
acids (SFAs) can decrease factor VII coagulant activity, which was implicated
as a risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as reviewed by Lefevre et al.
(2004). Furthermore, SFAs may raise serum low-density lipoprotein choles-
terol, which was claimed to cause atherosclerosis (Ravnskov 1998; Merkel
et al. 2001). Consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is of
increasing interest as evidenced in the literature, especially n-3 PUFA, which
have beneficial effects on reducing the risk of diabetes by reduction of glucose
intolerance (Sirtori and Galli 2002) and prevention of insulin resistance (Mori
et al. 1997), decreasing thrombotic tendency by inhibition of TXA2 (throm-
boxane A2) formation (Nieuwenhuys and Hornstra 1998) and lowering blood
pressure (Asaf et al. 2002; Sirtori and Galli 2002). Many studies proved that
the balance of consumption of n-6/n-3 is associated with human diseases.
Simopoulos (2002) indicated that a low ratio of n-6/n-3 (lower than 5) had
effects on the prevention of CVD, reducing total mortality; decreasing the risk
of breast cancer and many chronic diseases.
PUFAs such as 18:2n-6 (linoleic acid) and 18:3n-3 (alpha-linolenic acid)
are mostly present in vegetable and seed oils (David et al. 1995; Pereira et al.
2001); 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid)
are richly found in fish and shellfish (Sinclair et al. 1992), while SFA content
is high in animal fat and in some plant oils such as coconut and palm oils (Lee
et al. 1998; Li et al. 2002). In addition, a recent study reported that marine
macrophytes from algae and sea grass tissues contain long-chain PUFAs such
as 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid) and 20:5n-3 in phospholipids (Sanina et al.
2004). Another study found that 18:2n-6, 18:3n-3, 20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3 were
present as the major PUFAs of some freshwater insects, which are the natural
food organisms of Atlantic salmon (Bell et al. 1994).
Thai people have a long history of consuming insects. However, there
were no data published on the lipid content and fatty acid composition of
edible insects. The aim of this study was to determine the lipid content and
PUFA compositions and concentrations of edible terricolous and aquicolous
insects commonly consumed in northeastern Thailand.
Sampling
Six insects including three kinds of terricolous insects, namely mole
cricket (Gryllotalpa africana Beauvois), ground cricket (Acheta confirmata
Walker) and spur-throated grasshopper (Chondracris roseapbrunner Uvarov),
as well as three kinds of aquicolous insects, namely giant water bug (Lethocerus
indicus Lep.-serv), true water beetle (Cybister limbatus Fabricius) and water
PUFA CONTENT OF THAI EDIBLE INSECTS 279
scavenger beetle (Hydrous cavistanum Bedel), were collected from the local
wild bush and freshwater lake, Mahasarakham, Thailand. All insects were
stored at -20C before analysis. Analyses were conducted in triplicate (n = 3).
Lipid Extraction
Lipids were extracted according to the method of Bligh and Dyer (1959).
Approximately 5 g of well-ground samples was extracted with 50.0 mL of
chloroform–methanol (2:1, v/v) containing 10 mg/L of butylated hydroxytolu-
ene and 0.1 mg/mL of tricosanoic acid (C23:0, Nu-Chek-Prep, Elysian, MN)
as an internal standard. Then, the samples were stored in a fume hood over-
night. Each sample was filtered and transferred into a separate funnel and
added with 15 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride. The samples were shaken well to
allow the phases to separate; the lower phase was then evaporated and trans-
ferred into a 10-mL volumetric flask.
Fatty Acid Analysis
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of the total lipid extract were prepared
by transesterfication in H2SO4 (0.9 mol/L in methanol). Before injection into
the gas chromatograph, the FAMEs were filtered by Sep-pak silica column
(Alltech Associates, Inc., Deerfield, IL). Samples (1 mL) were analyzed quan-
titatively using a Shimadzu model GC-17A system (Shimadzu, Tokyo, Japan)
fitted with flame ionization detection eluted with H2 at 30 ⫾ 1 mL/min, with a
split ratio of 1:17. A fused silica capillary column (30 m ¥ 0.25 mm, 25-mm
film thickness; DB-Wax, J & W Scientific, Folsom, CA) was used. The injector
and detector were maintained at 270C. Nitrogen was used as a carrier gas and
temperature programming was from 150C (hold 1 min) to 180C at 25C/min,
then to 220C (hold 4 min) at 2.5C/min and then to 230C (hold 3 min) at
15C/min. Fatty acids were identified by comparison with standard mixtures of
FAME (Nu-Chek-Prep) running the same method (Liu et al. 2000).
Statistics
Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (Statistical Program for
Social Sciences, SPSS Corporation, Chicago, IL) version 12.0 for Windows.
Data were presented as mean ⫾ SD in all tables analyzed by general analysis of
variance.
TABLE 1.
LIPID CONTENT (g/100 g) OF THAI EDIBLE INSECTS (n = 3)
Giant water bug, which lives in freshwater, had the highest content of lipid
(20%), followed by mole cricket (13%), which lives on grass, while water
scavenger beetle had the lowest lipid content (3%).
Mole cricket Ground cricket Spur-throated grasshopper Giant water bug True water beetle Water scavenger beetle
15:0 133.9 ⫾ 20.1 67.5 ⫾ 4.3 43.9 ⫾ 0.2 166.1 ⫾ 14.4 107.4 ⫾ 14.0 10.8 ⫾ 1.5
16:0 3181.7 ⫾ 345.9 2223.2 ⫾ 162.9 837.3 ⫾ 22.2 4407.8 ⫾ 126.7 1687.4 ⫾ 259.0 461.0 ⫾ 92.4
17:0 nd nd 41.0 ⫾ 3.9 103.6 ⫾ 16.7 61.2 ⫾ 3.1 17.3 ⫾ 1.7
18:0 625.4 ⫾ 84.9 468.5 ⫾ 49.4 295.4 ⫾ 49.3 754.5 ⫾ 73.1 258.8 ⫾ 31.1 120.3 ⫾ 21.6
20:0 nd 29.4 ⫾ 2.3 nd nd 34.2 ⫾ 7.5 43.4 ⫾ 1.1
SFA 3942.3 ⫾ 451.1 2788.6 ⫾ 216.2 1217.6 ⫾ 53.1 5432.0 ⫾ 164.4 2149.0 ⫾ 309.5 652.8 ⫾ 116.8
16:1 528.8 ⫾ 46.8 201.7 ⫾ 28.1 47.7 ⫾ 9.3 1106.7 ⫾ 69.9 429.4 ⫾ 92.7 65.2 ⫾ 4.4
18:1 5104.8 ⫾ 807.7 2647.1 ⫾ 139.7 934.7 ⫾ 82.4 4782.2 ⫾ 337.2 1639.6 ⫾ 181.0 648.6 ⫾ 102.7
MUFA 5667.8 ⫾ 859.6 2848.8 ⫾ 161.4 982.4 ⫾ 73.3 5888.9 ⫾ 406.9 2069.0 ⫾ 251.6 713.7 ⫾ 106.9
18:2n-6 1541.6 ⫾ 250.4 2739.6 ⫾ 223.4 569.1 ⫾ 52.8 1238.3 ⫾ 196.1 776.1 ⫾ 185.1 453.0 ⫾ 106.4
18:3n-3 51.1 ⫾ 5.5 143.5 ⫾ 8.9 1854.5 ⫾ 178.7 472.7 ⫾ 38.7 366.2 ⫾ 71.9 66.5 ⫾ 19.6
18:3n-6 nd nd nd nd 87.3 ⫾ 26.7 nd
20:4n-6 nd nd nd 569.3 ⫾ 59.9 232.5 ⫾ 29.7 148.7 ⫾ 22.7
PUFA CONTENT OF THAI EDIBLE INSECTS
nd, not detected; SFA, saturated fatty acid; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid.
281
282
TABLE 3.
FATTY ACID COMPOSITION (% OF TOTAL FATTY ACIDS) OF THAI EDIBLE INSECTS (n = 3)
Mole cricket Ground cricket Spur-throated grasshopper Giant water bug True water beetle Water scavenger beetle
15:0 1.2 ⫾ 0.2 0.8 ⫾ 0.1 1.0 ⫾ 0.1 1.2 ⫾ 0.1 1.9 ⫾ 0.1 0.5 ⫾ 0.1
16:0 28.6 ⫾ 0.7 26.1 ⫾ 0.8 18.2 ⫾ 1.0 31.8 ⫾ 0.4 29.2 ⫾ 0.8 22.0 ⫾ 0.5
17:0 nd nd 0.9 ⫾ 0.1 0.8 ⫾ 0.1 1.1 ⫾ 0.1 0.8 ⫾ 0.1
18:0 5.6 ⫾ 0.3 5.5 ⫾ 0.3 6.4 ⫾ 0.8 5.5 ⫾ 0.6 4.5 ⫾ 0.1 5.8 ⫾ 0.0
20:0 nd 0.4 ⫾ 0.0 nd nd 0.6 ⫾ 0.1 2.1 ⫾ 0.4
SFA 35.4 ⫾ 1.0 32.7 ⫾ 1.0 26.4 ⫾ 0.7 39.2 ⫾ 1.0 37.2 ⫾ 0.6 31.2 ⫾ 0.2
16:1 4.8 ⫾ 0.4 2.4 ⫾ 0.3 1.0 ⫾ 0.3 8.0 ⫾ 0.3 7.5 ⫾ 1.6 3.2 ⫾ 0.4
18:1 45.6 ⫾ 2.1 31.1 ⫾ 0.6 20.2 ⫾ 0.6 34.5 ⫾ 1.5 28.5 ⫾ 1.3 31.1 ⫾ 0.8
MUFA 50.4 ⫾ 2.2 33.5 ⫾ 0.6 21.2 ⫾ 0.5 42.5 ⫾ 1.8 36.0 ⫾ 2.8 34.3 ⫾ 1.3
18:2n-6 13.8 ⫾ 1.4 32.2 ⫾ 1.4 12.3 ⫾ 1.0 9.0 ⫾ 1.5 13.3 ⫾ 1.7 21.5 ⫾ 1.3
18:3n-3 0.5 ⫾ 0.1 1.7 ⫾ 0.1 40.1 ⫾ 1.8 3.4 ⫾ 0.3 6.3 ⫾ 0.5 3.1 ⫾ 0.4
18:3n-6 nd nd nd nd 1.5 ⫾ 0.3 nd
20:4n-6 nd nd nd 4.1 ⫾ 0.3 4.0 ⫾ 0.3 7.1 ⫾ 0.2
L.-F. YANG, S. SIRIAMORNPUN and D. LI
nd, not detected; SFA, saturated fatty acid; MUFA, monounsaturated fatty acid; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acid.
PUFA CONTENT OF THAI EDIBLE INSECTS 283
different fatty acid compositions is linked to the diet and enzymatic activity in
the insects. The diet of aquicolous insects included larvae and algae (Kiyashko
et al. 2004; Sanina et al. 2004), which had a small amount of long-chain
PUFAs such as 20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3. In contrast, aquicolous insects possessed
enzymes such as D5 desaturase and D6 desaturase, which may have contrib-
uted to the synthesis of long-chain PUFAs (Sprecher 2000; Sinclair et al.
2002). In the present study, we detected only 0.5% of 18:3n-3, but 46% of 18:1
(oleic acid) in mole cricket. This may be attributed to the D9 desaturase,
enzyme which was found in house cricket, as same suborder as mole cricket
(Riddervold et al. 2002).
The total SFA concentration in this study ranged from 653 mg/100 g in
water scavenger beetle to 5432 mg/100 g in giant water bug. The main SFA in
insects was 16:0 (palmitic acid) ranging from 18.2% of total fatty acids in
spur-throated grasshopper to 31.8% of total fatty acids in giant water bug,
followed by 18:0 (stearic acid), with the composition ranging from 4.5% in
true water beetle to 6.4% in spur-throated grasshopper. Giant water bug had the
highest amount of 16:0 and total SFA content in both composition and con-
centration, but with a small account of 20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3.
The concentration of total MUFA content ranged from 714 mg/100 g in
water scavenger beetle to 5889 mg/100 g in giant water bug. Only two MUFAs
were detected in the insect samples, namely 16:1 (palmitoleic acid) and 18:1.
The main MUFA in both ground- and water-living insects was 18:1. Mole
cricket had the highest 18:1 concentration (5105 mg/100 g), which accounted
for 46% of total fatty acids. This composition is much higher than that found
in corn and soybean oils, but smaller than that found in olive oil. Expressions
of D9 and D11 desaturase genes in insects reported elsewhere showed
increased productions of 16:1 and 18:1 (Rodriguez et al. 2004).
CONCLUSIONS
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