Bulletin of the National Research Centre (Sep 2020)

Proximate and mineral compositions of Samia cynthia ricini and Dytiscus marginalis, commonly consumed by the Bodo tribe in Assam, India

  • Kushal Choudhury,
  • Dipamani Sarma,
  • Pforeni Jane Sapruna,
  • Amar Deep Soren

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-020-00411-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 44, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract Background Entomophagy, the consumption of insects, is a common practice among various tribal communities across the globe. Various factors such as flavour, nutrient content, availability and claimed medicinal values have contributed to the increased consumption of insects. Two commonly consumed insects among the Bodo tribe in Assam, namely, Samia cynthia ricini Boisduval, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) and Dytiscus marginalis Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), were procured from local markets in Kokrajhar and evaluated for their proximate and mineral contents using Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) guidelines and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Both the insects are available throughout the year and are consumed on a large scale. Results S. cynthia ricini showed higher contents of moisture (7.89 ± 0.020%), ash (4.10 ± 0.077%), fat (22.23 ± 0.209%) and carbohydrate (7.78 ± 0.057%) whereas higher contents of crude fibre (14.28 ± 0.102%), protein (56.37 ± 0.366%) and nitrogen (9.02 ± 0.058%) were observed in D. marginalis. The calorific value of S. cynthia ricini was higher with 430.19 ± 2.241 kcal whereas D. marginalis showed a lower value of 382.58 ± 1.527 kcal. D. marginalis showed the presence of arsenic (As) (0.014 ppm), and sodium (Na) was not detected. S. cynthia ricini did not show the presence of As and magnesium (Mg). Lead (Pb) showed a value of 0.026 and 0.044 ppm, and cadmium (Cd) showed a value of 0.005 and 0.005 ppm in S. cynthia ricini and D. marginalis respectively. Conclusions Both the studied insects showed high protein and fat contents and a high calorific value. Although the insects show the presence of several essential minerals in considerable amounts, they showed the presence of toxic heavy metals in trace amounts. Hence, their consumption must be done in a controlled manner owing to the presence of As, Pb and Cd which are capable of causing adverse reactions in its consumers.

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