Cito Annarita, Longo Santi, Mazza Giuseppe, Dreassi Elena, Francardi Valeria
1 CREA-ABP, Consiglio per la Ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca per l'Agrobiologia e Pedologia (ABP), Firenze, Italy.
2 Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Catania, Sez. Entomologia applicata, Catania, Italy.
Food Sci Technol Int. 2017 Sep;23(6):529-539. doi: 10.1177/1082013217705718. Epub 2017 Apr 21.
We investigated the chemical composition of the weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus larvae, traditionally used as human food in Asia and known worldwide as one of the most significant pest for palm trees. Total fat content and fatty acid composition were analyzed using standard methodologies in (1) weevil larvae reared on apple fruit slices and wild specimens collected from attacked (2) Phoenix canariensis and (3) Syagrus romanzoffiana palm trees. Total fat content was extremely high in all the specimens (ranged between 57.62 and 60.03% based on dry weight). Despite sharing the same prevalent fatty acids (myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, palmitoleic acid, oleic acid, α-linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid), fatty acid composition of the wild weevil larvae significantly differed from that of the specimens raised on apple fruit, due to the presence of other minor compounds. In general, a good balance between unsaturated fatty acids (∼53.68% of total fatty acids) and saturated fatty acids (∼43.41% of total fatty acids) and a low cholesterol content (74.61-152.32 mg/kg based on dry matter) were detected in all the specimens. Conversely, the weevil larvae did not represent a good source of α-tocopherol (14.17-26.22 mg/kg based on dry matter). The ability of the protein extracts obtained from the weevil larvae to inhibit in vitro the angiotensin-converting enzyme, the main enzyme involved in blood pressure regulation, was also investigated. To simulate gastrointestinal digestion process, protein extracts were hydrolyzed by the gastrointestinal enzymes. A significantly lower IC (0.588-0.623 mg/ml) was measured in all the protein extracts after enzymatic hydrolysis versus the corresponding crude protein extracts (3.270-3.752 mg/ml). Given that the weevil larvae are able to provide interesting benefits for human health, this study supports their use as human food not just in the native countries where they are traditionally consumed and farmed but also throughout the world.
我们研究了红棕象甲幼虫的化学成分，这种幼虫在亚洲传统上被用作人类食物，并且作为棕榈树最重要的害虫之一而闻名于世。使用标准方法分析了（1）以苹果片饲养的象甲幼虫以及从受侵害的（2）加那利海枣和（3）皇后葵棕榈树上采集的野生样本的总脂肪含量和脂肪酸组成。所有样本中的总脂肪含量都极高（基于干重，范围在57.62%至60.03%之间）。尽管共享相同的主要脂肪酸（肉豆蔻酸、棕榈酸、硬脂酸、棕榈油酸、油酸、α-亚油酸和α-亚麻酸），但野生象甲幼虫的脂肪酸组成与以苹果饲养的样本显著不同，这是由于存在其他微量化合物。总体而言，在所有样本中均检测到不饱和脂肪酸（约占总脂肪酸的53.68%）和饱和脂肪酸（约占总脂肪酸的43.41%）之间的良好平衡以及低胆固醇含量（基于干物质为74.61 - 152.32毫克/千克）。相反，象甲幼虫并非α-生育酚的良好来源（基于干物质为14.17 - 26.22毫克/千克）。还研究了从象甲幼虫中提取的蛋白质提取物体外抑制血管紧张素转换酶的能力，该酶是参与血压调节的主要酶。为了模拟胃肠道消化过程，蛋白质提取物用胃肠道酶进行水解。与相应的粗蛋白质提取物（3.270 - 3.752毫克/毫升）相比，酶水解后所有蛋白质提取物的IC（0.588 - 0.623毫克/毫升）显著降低。鉴于象甲幼虫能够为人类健康带来有益影响，本研究支持其不仅在传统消费和养殖它们的原产国，而且在全世界用作人类食物。
