INSECT AS FOOD Dr Manzoor Ahmad Mir Department

INSECT AS FOOD Dr Manzoor Ahmad Mir Department of Bioresources Kashmir University 9797110211

Insects are so distributed in the world , we can seen in every where on the our plan. Human already communities with insects, it knew as the blessed and worshiped like older Egyptian, or used in so many scopes of life like served as a food source for people for tens of thousands of years and treatments, because the structure of boy insects contained many useful component like( proteins enzymes and vitamins). In sentury 21 so many country used insects as food like Japan, China, India. . . act(1).

Entomophagy: is the practice of eating insects - including arachnids (tarantulas) and myriapods (centipedes). The word “entomophagy” derives from the Greek term éntomos, or éntomon, meaning, “insect(ed), ” literally meaning “cut in two, ” referring to an insect’s segmented body, and phăgein, “to eat. ” Combined, the two terms mean, “insect eating. ”(7).

Why people used inscts as food? ! Vitamins and minerals In Angola, the caterpillar, Usta terpsichore M. & W. (Satumiidae), was found to be a rich source of iron, copper, zinc, thiamin (vitamin B 1 and riboflavin (B 2); of cooked insect provided > 100% of the daily requirement of each of these minerals and vitamins (3).

Insect as source Protein Most insects are cheap, tasty and a good natural protein source requiring less land feed than raising cows or pigs(4).

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Therapeutic foods since low calories and low protein are the main causes of death for approximately 5 million children annually, insect protein formulated into a ready-to-use therapeutic food similar to Nutriset's Plumpy'Nut

Some example of the insect used as food 1 -Locusts (actually grasshoppers): are used by various African groups consistently as food. They are collecting before be came more active. This insect boiled before it being cleaned and salted. Event the legs are used by grinding and combining them with peanut butter and salt. Locusts is so used in cokrea (7). 2 -Rhino beetle Grubs: This beetle belongs to order Coleoptera of class Insecta. The grubs and adult beetles are very nutritious and full of proteins and essential amino acids. Usually these beetles are fried, grilled or roasted to get the best taste. These can be cooked with coconut to get the best taste. Essential components include calcium, proteins and phosphorus. Usually, elytra or hard wings are removed from the adult beetles as these are indigestible. Grubs are completely consumed as these are soft bodied (8).

3 - Cicadas: Cicadas are very rare insects and are mostly found in US, China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar. According to a biologist and Cicada expert, these insects are low in carbohydrates while these are rich source of proteins. These are soft, juicy and harmless creatures(8). 5 - Cockroaches: Cockroaches are generally considered as filth feeders. It is a wrong assumption that all the cockroaches feed on dirty materials. It is very interesting to note that there are many species of cockroaches which differ in size, color and most importantly, taste. These are used after removal of wings and legs. The immature form is smaller and much tender as compared to adult insect. These can be roasted, sauteed boiled or can be fried to crispy

5 -Caterpillars : have been eaten by humans in various areas of the world. Caterpillars of the Giant Skippers in Mexico are considered a delicacy, and are collected from the fleshy leaves of the maguey plant. Sold fresh in markets, they are then fried before consumption(5).

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