TITLE:
Impact of Cooking Time on the Physicochemical and Nutritional Properties of Macrotermes subhyalinus and Imbrasia obscura
AUTHORS:
Clément Saïdou, Kouabiteu Marivaux Lesage Djouffa, Bouba Adji Mohammadou, Ahmed Ali, Clergé Tchiegang
KEYWORDS:
Entomophagy, Insects, Processing, Nutritional Value
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.14 No.4,
April
28,
2023
ABSTRACT: Insects are considered as an important source of essential nutrients
because of their nutritional value which in turn is related to proteins,
lipids, and mineral elements. In order to
optimise the nutritional quality of insects, there is a need to identify
processing and cooking methods that will result in higher retention of quality
nutrients. Several researchers have investigated the effect of cooking
methods on the nutritional quality of edible insects. The effect of cooking time on physico-chemical and
nutritional parameters of Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur and Imbrasia obscura Butler was evaluated in this study. M. subhyalinus échantillons were
fried and grilled at a temperature of 150°C at intervals of 3, 6, 9, and 12
minutes. I. obscura was initially boiled at 93.4°C for 6, 9, 12, and 15
minutes. Then, I. obscura which had
been boiled for six minutes at 93.4°C was fried for 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes,
respectively, at 150°C. The analysis used
the pre-levered samples from those various times. The results obtained for M. subhyalinus and I.
obscura respectively demonstrate that these two insects comprise
primarily proteins (36.83 and 59.04 g/100g
DM), lipids (54.24 and 18.67 g/100g
DM), and total mineral content (5.87 and 7.82 g/100g DM). With increased cooking time,
physical-chemical and nutritional indicators decreased significantly (p 0.05). When the insects were fried and toasted, the total mineral content increased, but only the lipids increased considerably
(p 0.05). Fry for 3 to 6 minutes and
toast for 3 to 6 minutes are treatments for M. subhyalinus that better conserve nutrients. To preserve the
nutritional value, scalding I. obscura for 6 minutes and combining it
with frying it for 3 minutes are highly advised.