Abstract:
Nutritional value of Palm Beetle Larvae (PBL) (Oryctes monoceros) and Compost Beetle Larvae (CBL) (Oryctes boas) was investigated. The proximate composition revealed that O. boas larvae were higher than O. monoceros in crude protein (7.74±0.03% : 6.57±0.07%), ash (9.52±0.25% : 1.07±0.02%) and carbohydrate (5.79±0.47% : 4.90±0.05%). O. monoceros was higher than O. boas in fat content (2.36±0.00% : 1.90±0.00%) and moisture (82.74±1.02% : 73.78±0.56%), respectively. O. boas provided average total energy of 123.60 kcal/100g, which was higher than 70.96 kcal/100g of O. monoceros. Amino acid profiles of the two larvae showed similarity in the composition and distribution of a total number of eighteen (18) amino acids in each species. The larvae of O. boas had higher protein quality than O. monoceros as it possessed higher concentrations of sixteen (16) amino acids, which included eight (8) essential amino acids (leucine, valine, lysine, threonine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, methionine and tryptophan) and eight non-essential amino acids which included histidine, arginine, tyrosine, cystine, aspartic acid, alanine, glycine and serine. The larvae of O. monoceros had higher concentrations of only two non-essential acids (glutamic acid and proline) than O. boas. The presence of the eight essential amino acids plus methionine, cystine and histidine which are “limiting factors” in many food stuffs have made those edible larvae valuable natural resources for infant food formulation and feed for livestock production.
Keywords:
Protein Quality, Amino Acids, Composition, Edible Larvae, Oryctes monoceros, Orycte boas