Belgian Grasshoppers: A Nutritious Food Source Paul, A.1*, Frederich, M.2, Blecker, C.1, Haubruge, E.1, Francis, F.1, Caparros Medigo, R.1, Uttyenbroeck, R.1,Taofic, A.1,

Heuskin, S.1, Lognay, G.1 & Danthine, S.1

1 Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Passage des Deportes-2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium 2 Department of Pharmacy, University of Liege, B36 Pharmacognosie, Avenue de l`Hopital 1, B-4000 Liege, Belgium

* paul.aman@ulg.ac.be

Introduction Need for Alternate Sources of

Protein Entomophagy

Rapid Urbanization

Teaming Millions Africa (524)

Asia (349)

America (679)

Europe (41)

Australia (152)

Edible Insect Species Overview

31%

18% 14%

13%

24%

Beetles

Caterpillars

Bees, Ants andWasps

Grasshoppers,Locusts andCrickets

Others

Percentage share of different insect groups

Why me?

Nutrition Nutritionally superior to conventional meats

Health

- Lower risk of zoonotic infections

-Traditionally used in medications

Environment

- Lesser greenhouse gases emission during production

- Some species feed on dead organic material

Material and Methods

Lipid extraction was done by a cold

extraction technique using 2:1

chloroform/methanol as solvent

Lipids

(Dry weight)

Protein estimation from the residual mass left after lipid extraction

was done using dumas method

Proteins

Thermal profile was analyzed by differential

scanning calorimetry Q1000 DSC connected to refrigerated cooling

system

Thermal Profile of Lipids

Fatty Acid Profile

Fatty acid compositions were determined by GC on a HP 6890 Series GC System fitted with a HP 7683 Series injector and

flame ionization

Samples Grasshoppers caught

from local fields Chorthippus parallelus Conocephalus discolor

Reared in cages to obtain eggs

After laying these grasshoppers were used

for analysis Conocephalus discolor turns cannibal during

caged breeding

Eggs kept at room temperature followed by breaking diapause at 5°C Hatchings obtained (still

juvenile)

Results and Discussion

% Chorthippus

parallelus Conocephalus

discolor

Lipids 6.90 13.07

Proteins 77.80 ± 0.27 78.42 ± 0.17

Thermal Profile of Lipids C 16:0 C 16:1 C 18:0 C 18:1C 18:2

n6C 18:3

n3C 20:3

n3Others

Conocephalus discolor 10.56 1.9 7.55 20.41 53.58 2.28 1.09 9.02

Chorthippus parallelus 0 0 9.74 16.02 14.48 50 0 9.76

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

%

% Fatty Acid Composition

Conclusion 1. Grasshoppers are already consumed as foods in many parts of world. 2. Besides being nutritionally rich, they are also used as medication is

some parts of world and there consumption is also supported by environmentalist.

3. With this amount of proteins and a fatty acid profile with dominant polyunsaturated fatty acids, they can be a potential future food to meet the needs of teaming millions.

4. Further research is required in establishing commercial breeding protocols and effect of specialized diet to improve food quality so that a substantial amount of biomass can be generated to encourage them as human foods.

For more information log on to: www.agricultureislife.be

Project 4B- Field border flowering strips as a source of food or non-

food compounds