Nutritional Composition of Some Commonly Available Aquatic Edible Insects of Assam, India.

The nutritive value of five edible aquatic insects of Assam-Hemipterans; water bug ( Fabricius) family belostomatidae; giant water bug ( Lepeletier and Serville) family belostomatidae; water scorpion ( sp.) family nepidae, water stick ( sp.) family nepidae; Coleopterans diving beetle ( sp.) family dytiscidae-based on their proximate and elemental composition, antioxidant and antinutritional properties were assessed by using standard methods of analysis. Analytical studies revealed that the selected aquatic insect species have high nutritive value and are rich sources of protein (50.03 to 57.67%) and other nutrients (fat, carbohydrate and crude fiber, etc.) along with superior energy contents (331.98 to 506.38 kJ/100 g). The aquatic insect species also contained appreciable amounts of major and trace dietary elements. Phenol and flavonoid contents reflect its high antioxidant activity (80.82 to 91.47% DPPH inhibition). Tannin (18.50 to 60.76 mg tannic acid equivalent/100 g), phytic acid (11.72 to 97.30 mg/100 g) and oxalic acid (2.93 to 5.34 mg/100 g) as antinutritional compounds were registered below the toxic level (0.52% or 520 mg/100 g). The present findings indicate that the selected aquatic insect species can be considered as ideal candidates for exploration as food and feed to ensure nutritional and livelihood security of this region.