Table 4.
Fatty acid composition of selected edible insects.
| Genus | Species | Developmental Stage | Fatty Acid Composition (% of Total Fatty Acids) | Total Fatty Acids or Fat (g/100 g Dry Matter) | Reference | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C14:0 | C16:0 | C18:0 | SFA | C18:1 | MUFA | C18:2 | PUFA | |||||
| Apis † | cerana | L | 3.9 | 38.2 | 8.1 | 50.7 | 46.9 | 48.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 6.1 | [34] |
| P | 3.0 | 31.4 | 10.6 | 46.2 | 49.8 | 52.7 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 6.3 | |||
| A | 1.9 | 18.2 | 12.1 | 33.8 | 57.7 | 63.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 4.2 | |||
| dorsata | P | 3.2 | 33.3 | 11.8 | 49.4 | 47.7 | 49.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 6.2 | ||
| A | 1.0 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 31.3 | 61.0 | 66.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3.1 | |||
| mellifera | L | 2.4 | 37.3 | 11.8 | 51.8 | 47.5 | 48.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.9 | [33] | |
| P | 2.9 | 35.1 | 12.6 | 51.1 | 47.6 | 48.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 | |||
| A | 0.6 | 14.4 | 9.3 | 25.2 | 45.2 | 67.0 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 1.7 | |||
| florea | P | 1.8 | 35.3 | 8.8 | 46.6 | 47.6 | 52.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 7.2 | [35] | |
| A | 1.5 | 30.7 | 9.7 | 43.2 | 49.7 | 55.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 5.4 | |||
| Aspongopus | viduatus | A | 0.3 | 31.3 | 3.5 | 37.9 | 45.5 | 56.8 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 54.2 | [53] |
| nepalensis | A | 0.4 | 32.3 | 4.8 | 37.5 | 46.4 | 56.1 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 35.9 | [18] | |
| Bombus *,† | ignitus | A | 2.6 | 16.1 | 1.7 | 22.1 | 49.1 | 75.4 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 9.5 | [52] |
| terrestris | A | 3.8 | 15.2 | 1.7 | 21.5 | 51.1 | 76.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 8.4 | ||
| Imbrasia | belina | L | 1.2 | 31.9 | 4.7 | 37.9 | 34.2 | 36.0 | 6.0 | 26.1 | 23.4 | [54] |
| epimethea | L | 0.6 | 23.2 | 22.1 | 46.1 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 7.0 | 42.5 | 13.3 | [22] | |
| truncata | L | 0.2 | 24.6 | 21.7 | 46.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 44.4 | 16.4 | ||
| ertli | L | 1.0 | 22.0 | 0.4 | 61.4 | 2.0 | 24.0 | 20.0 | 31.0 | 11.1 | [55,56] | |
| oyemensis | L | 0.5 | 46.0 | 7.2 | 54.2 | 34.6 | 34.6 | 11.2 | 11.2 | 25.4 | [22] | |
| Macrotermes | Bellicosus ** | A | 2.2 | 42.5 | 2.9 | 49.0 | 15.8 | 17.9 | 24.2 | 33.1 | 36.1 | [54] |
| bellicosus | A | 0.2 | 46.5 | -- | 46.7 | 12.8 | 14.9 | 34.4 | 38.3 | 46.1 | [56,57] | |
| nigeriensis | A | 0.6 | 31.4 | 7.1 | 39.4 | 52.5 | 53.1 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 34.2 | [58] | |
| subhylanus | A | 1.1 | 27.7 | 6.3 | 35.1 | 48.6 | 52.8 | 10.8 | 12.2 | 44.8 | [47] | |
| bellicosus | A | 1.2 | 38.4 | 9.5 | 49.5 | 41.7 | 44.6 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 47.0 | ||
| Pseudacanthotermes | militaris | A | 26.0 | 5.9 | 32.2 | 50.3 | 56.1 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 46.6 | ||
| spiniger | A | 0.8 | 28.0 | 6.1 | 35.8 | 49.3 | 52.9 | 10.5 | 11.3 | 47.3 | ||
| Oryctes | owariensis | L | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 5.2 | 43.6 | 45.5 | 50.9 | 53.8 | [59] |
| rhinoceros | L | 3.5 | 28.7 | 2.1 | 34.4 | 41.5 | 45.9 | 14.1 | 19.7 | 38.1 | [54] | |
| Vespa † | velutina | B | 6.0 | 31.9 | 7.8 | 48.3 | 35.3 | 39.7 | 5.2 | 12.1 | 11.6 | [32] |
| mandarinia | B | 2.5 | 21.3 | 5.0 | 30.7 | 27.7 | 29.2 | 33.7 | 40.1 | 20.2 | ||
| basalis | B | 1.4 | 15.8 | 5.4 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 25.2 | 42.8 | 50.5 | 22.2 | ||
L = Larva, P = Pupa, A = Adult; † Fatty acid content (mg/100 g dry matter) was obtained from the respective paper and recalculated as % of total fatty acids; * Mated queen; ** Oil. SFA = Saturated fatty acids, MUFA = Monounsaturated fatty acids, PUFA = Polyunsaturated fatty acids