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Published:
Apr 8, 2024Updated:
2024-04-08Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Nutritional and Antinutritional Composition of Defatted Emperor Moth (Cirina forda) Larvae meal: a nutritional food source rich in amino acids, fatty acids, and minerals
Abstract
This study evaluated the nutritional and antinutritional composition of defatted Emperor Moth (Cirina forda) larvae meal as well as its functional properties. Freshly harvested larvae were blanched in warm water and oven-dried at 35oC for 72 hours, before milling to a fine powder, and analyzed for their crude fat and fatty acid profile, crude protein and amino acid profile, 9 minerals elements and anti-nutritional contents. Results revealed percentage proximate composition values of C. forda before defatting and after defatting as 56.26 ± 0.2 and 65.34 ± 0.02 for crude protein, 17.18 ± 0.15 and 8.69 ± 0.02 for crude fat, 6.16 ± 0.11 and 5.73 ± 0.01 for ash, 9.06 ± 0.03 and 8.42 ± 0.02 for crude fibre and 3.13 ± 0.02 and 4.41 ± 0.00 for carbohydrate respectively. Good levels of mineral contents including, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, copper and zinc are present in adequate proportions indicating that they are a good source of micro and macro-mineral nutrients. The larvae are also a good source of essential and non-essential amino acids as well as an excellent profile of fatty acids. Antinutritional values of C. forda including tannin (average, 281.08 ± 0.04 mg/100g), phytic acid (average, 0.438 ± 0.01 mg/100g) and oxalate acid (average, 35.5 ± 0.07 mg/100g) also fell within tolerable levels, which is a non-toxic level. It was concluded in this research that, C. forda larvae contain a good amount of crude protein and a higher amount of it when defatted. They are also an excellent source of macro and micronutrients which can be exploited as an alternative protein source needed in the aquaculture, poultry or livestock feed industries.
