Macronutrient Content of Some Edible Insects with Reference to the Baksa District of Assam, India

Insects are very tasty food used in India as well as other countries in the world. Insects play an important role in the creation of a sustainable food security. The habit of eating insects has been being a part of daily life for a number of ethnic tribal people in North east India. Insects not only provide nutritional protection but also give a livelihood to poor ethnic people of society. This paper has focussed on the quantitative analysis of macronutrient contents in insects commonly consumed in Baksa district Assam. The survey results show that entomophgy is most common in villages of Assam in comparison to urban areas. On chemical analysis it is observed that edible insects are nutritious in terms of protein (2.5�24.6 gm/100g fresh weight), lipid (1.6-18.6 gm. /100g fresh wt. ), and carbohydrate (0.2- 5.8 gm/100 g fresh wt. ). In the present study, Phylophaga spp. , a terrestrial insect, contains the highest amount of protein (24.4 g/100g fresh wet. ) in comparison to other terrestrial edible insects studied. The Hydrophilus olivaceus, an aquatic edible insect, has maximum amount of protein in comparison to other studied insects Most of the insects consumed in the study area are rich in proteins compared to other macronutrients and thus it suggests that insects can be used as substitute protein supplements instead of other meat or fish proteins in our normal diet.