Table 1.
Common edible insects, isolated compounds and biological activity.
| Insect | Common name | Compound isolated from | Isolated compound | Biological activity | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blattodea | |||||
| Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus) | American cockroach | Adult | Isocoumarins periplatins A–D | Cytotoxic activities against human liver (HepG2) and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells | (36) |
| Polyphaga plancyi (Bolivar) | Chinese cockroach | Not determined | Plancyamide A Plancypyrazine A Plancypyrazine B Plancyol A |
Antiproliferative | (37) |
| Macrotermes spp. | Termites | Body surface | Roseoflavin, 8-methylamino-8- demethyl-D-riboflavin Natalamycin Termisoflavones A-C |
Antibacterial Antifungal |
(38, 39) |
| Coleoptera | |||||
| Blaps japanensis | Adult | Blapsols A–D | Anti-inflammatory | (40) | |
| Holotrichia diomphalia (Hope) | Larvae | Tricin, palmitinic acid eicosane | Antifungal | (41) | |
|
Hycleus oculatus (Thunberg) H. tinctus (Walsingham) H. lunata (Smith) |
African blister beetles | Adult | (R)- (+)-palasonin Palasonimide Cantharimide Palasonin |
Anticancer | (42, 43) |
| Diptera | |||||
| Hermetia Illucens (L.) | Black Soldier Fly | Larvae | α-pyrone diketopiperazine |
Antibacterial | (44) |
| Hemiptera | |||||
|
Aspongopus Chinensis (Dallas) |
Chinese stinkbug | Not determined | (±)-Aspongamide A | Therapeutic agents for chronic kidney disease | (45, 46) |
|
Dactylopius coccus (Costa) |
Not determined | Carminic acid | Antioxidant | (40) | |
| Hymenoptera | |||||
| Perga affinis (Kirby) | Australian sawfly | Larvae | Macrocarpal and grandinol | Antimicrobial against Bacillus subtilis | (47) |
| Polyrhachis dives (Smith) | Chinese black ants | Adult | (±)-Polyrhadopamine A, (±)-Polyrhadopamine B, (±)-Polyrhadopamine C, trolline, (±)-Polyrhadopamine C β-carboline-3-carboxamide 5-(3-indolylmethyl)-nicotinsaureamide |
Used to treat rheumatoid and osteo arthritis, inflammatory diseases, and central nervous system. Antiproliferative against T-lymphocytes |
(48, 49) |
| Tetraponera rufonigra (Jerdon) | Iron ant | Adult | Tetraponerines | Neurotoxic Antiproliferative |
(50) |
| Apis mellifera (Linnaeus) | Brazilian red propolis | Not determined | Lupeol, lupenone, lupeol acetate | Antitumor | (51) |
| Lepidoptera | |||||
| Byasa polyeuctes (Doubleday) | Taiwan butterfly | Adult | Papilistatin | Antibacterial Anticancer |
(52) |
| Orthoptera | |||||
| Brachystola magna (Girard) | Texas grasshopper | Adult | Pancratistatin Narciclasine Ungeremine |
Anticancer | (40) |
| Schistocerca gregaria (Forsskål) | Desert locust | Adult gut | Desmosterol, (3β, 5α) cholesta-8, 14, 24-trien-3-ol, 4, 4-dimethyl, (3β, 20R) cholesta-5, 24-dien-3, 20-diol | Antimicrobial properties under investigation | (53) |