I takt med en ökande världspopulation ställs allt hårdare krav på primärproducenter att tillgodose råvaror i adekvata mängder. Forskning inom området är av stor vikt för att hitta nya hållbara källor för näringsämnen som exempelvis protein, eftersom produktionen i dagsläget för med sig många miljömässiga nackdelar. I samband med att EU godkänner insekter som livsmedel får fler upp ögonen för eventuella fördelar som de kan bidra med som råvara. Syftet med denna studien är att undersöka vilken påverkan tillsats av syrsmjöl har på färg, textur, gillande och expansion hos extruderad majskrok. Detta är ett steg i riktningen mot implementering av insekter i västerländsk kost. Genom att analysera vatten och proteinhalt i den extruderade produkten, samt mäta dess färg, textur, radiella expansion och gillande hos konsument kan insamlad data ställas mot varandra och eventuella korrelationer belysas. Resultatet från studien visar att vid högre andel syrsmjöl blir texturen kompaktare, expansionen mindre och en färgförändring sker åt det mörkare hållet. De prov med lägre andel tillsatt syrsmjöl, och därmed en bättre expansion, fick högst gillandepoäng på alla frågeställningar i ett konsumenttest. / In line with a growing world population, higher demands are put on primary producers to supply raw materials in adequate quantities. Research in the area is of great importance in finding new sustainable sources of nutrients such as protein, which presently brings with it many environmental disadvantages. As the EU approves insects as food, more people are becoming aware of potential benefits they can provide. The purpose of this report is to investigate the effect of the addition of cricket flour on the color, texture, liking and expansion of an extruded corn puff. This is a step towards the implementation of insects in the Western diet. By analyzing the water and protein content of the extruded product, as well as measuring its color, texture, radial expansion and consumer appreciation, collected data can be compared and any correlations can be shown. The results of the study show that with a higher proportion of cricket flour the texture becomes more compact, shows less expansion and a color change toward a darker tone. The samples with a lower proportion of added cricket flour, and thus a better expansion, received the highest points of liking on all the questions in the consumer test.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Zoology, 2005. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-108).

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This thesis was developed in order to determine whether the selected species most commonly kept feeding insects affect fertility in captive bred assassin bugs \kur{Platymeris biguttatus}. Used feeding insects were \kur{Blaptica dubia} roaches, \kur{Acheta domestica} crickets and larvae of \kur{Tenebrio molitor} bugs. The reason of using assassin bugs \kur{Platymeris biguttatus} was their popularity among breeders, their easy care needs and their superior fertility. Assassin bugs were kept in an air conditioned room with a constant temperature conditions and light regime. It has been shown that the given diet has no effect on fertility in this kind of bugs, also that breeding in groups has negative impact on fertility of this assassin bugs species. The results of this study could demonstrate the importance of proper feeding in keeping these bugs and help breeders to have better results.

<p>Entomophagy, which is the habit of eating insects, has become relevant in the past few years as it could potentially help reduce current and future food insecurity, due to the highly nutritious and sustainable characteristics of edible insects. In addition to the nutritional content of insects, research on the potential bioactive components of insect extracts has also gained popularity. In this study, extracts from house cricket (<i>Acheta domesticus</i>) from two farms and their corresponding feeds were obtained using a microwave-assisted extraction. Further phenolic characterization led to the identification and quantification of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, <i>p</i>-coumaric acid, ferulic acid and syringic acid as major phenolic compounds in both <i>A. domesticus </i>extracts as well as both feed extracts. Additionally, <i>in vitro</i> antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical cation (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical assays. In both <i>in vitro</i> assays, <i>A. domesticus</i> extracts showed higher antioxidant activity compared to the feeds. Antibacterial activity against <i>E. coli</i> and <i>L. innocua</i> was also evaluated using the microwell method. The <i>A. domesticus </i>extracts showed a selective inhibition (p<0.05) towards the gram-positive bacteria <i>L. innocua </i>between a period of 4 to 8 h. This inhibition is thought to have occurred as a result of the presence of phenolic acids and antimicrobial peptides, while the feed extracts did not exhibit any inhibitory activity towards any of the bacteria. The finding of the same phenolic acids in <i>A. domesticus</i> and their corresponding feed could imply the capacity of <i>A. domesticus</i> to absorb and sequester dietary phenolics that may provide additional health benefits when the insect is consumed, unveiling new benefits of entomophagy. </p>

Three dried cricket products – Oven-roasted Cricket Meal (ORCM), Oven-roasted Cricket Powder (ORCP), and Spray-dried Cricket Powder (SDCP) – were prepared and compared to assess their relative nutritional, functional, and sensory properties. The range of particle sizes in SDCP was wider than that of ORCP; while SDCP had more particles in the 7.78-22.0 µm range, it also had more particles in the 176-498 µm range, which contributed to differences in functional and sensory properties. ORCM and SDCP meet the FDA definition of an "excellent source" of vitamin B2, ORCP is a "good source" of vitamin B2, and all three products are an "excellent source" of vitamin B12 and vitamin E at a serving size of 100 g. The addition of ORCP to a protein drink at 30% did not significantly affect its sensory acceptance, while the drink prepared with SDCP was rated significantly worse in every attribute, and the drink prepared with ORCM had varied effects on the different sensory attributes.

Captive insectivores may consume invertebrates as all, or part of their overall diet. The challenge with feeding captive insectivores involves the limited number of invertebrate species that are commercially available, and the lack of key nutrients provided by these insects. Among these insects, a naturally occurring low concentration of calcium and an inverse calcium to phosphorus ratio may put insectivores at the risk of developing hypocalcemia. A strategy to correct this nutrient imbalance involves supplementing the insect diet with high concentrations of targeted nutrients – a term referred to as gut-loading. Current industry guidelines recommend feeding a supplemented diet for 48 to 72 h before offering the insect to an insectivore. In the present study, the mineral profile of adult crickets (Acheta domesticus) offered a maintenance diet (1.58% Ca, DMB) are compared to crickets offered a supplemented diet (11.32% Ca, DMB) over 120 h. The supplemented diet produced a cricket with significantly higher calcium concentration compared to the maintenance diet. The calcium concentration of crickets offered the supplemented diet was highest at 48 h (0.63%), but did not achieve a 1:1 Ca:P ratio nor meet the lowest reported nutrient requirements of carnivorous reptiles, omnivorous reptiles, or an insectivorous bird at various life stages. Although the supplemented diet improved the whole body calcium concentration in feeder crickets, the crickets do not provide adequate calcium, iron, or manganese to meet the requirement of insectivores. As evidenced by the current study, the supplemented crickets are not recommended to serve as the sole source of nutrition for an insectivore.

<p>This study was performed to better understand the physiological responses of the cricket <em>Acheta domesticus</em> to dietary restriction and nutritional geometry (relative nutritional balance). Dietary restriction in crickets decreases the growth rate, survivorship, maturation mass and delays maturation, but it has the benefit of increasing their maximum longevity. Measurements of maturation mass, maturation age and longevity were obtained and used to calculate adult duration, growth rate and survivorship. This experiment combined both dietary restriction and nutritional geometry. Treatments were dietary restricted and provided with one of three macronutrients: lipid, carbohydrate or protein. The macronutrients were predicted to modulate the effects of dietary restriction while still producing an increase in maximum longevity. The lifetime restricted males and females obtained the highest maximum longevity of all treatments. The females of the carbohydrate treatment experienced significant increases in survivorship when compared to the lifetime restricted treatment. The males of the carbohydrate treatment achieved the second highest maximum longevity as well as a significant increase in longevity when compared to the lipid and protein males. A significantly earlier maturation age was obtained by the carbohydrate males when compared to the lifetime restricted treatment. The protein females had a significantly higher maximum longevity than the control treatment. The lipid treatment had an extremely low survivorship, a decreased adult duration as well as a low maturation mass. In summary, carbohydrates decreased the maturation age and increased the survivorship of the female crickets and increased the longevity of the male crickets. The protein treatment did not obtain the expected increases in growth rates or maturation mass associated with high protein diets. Therefore, different high protein diets should be tested in conjunction with the carbohydrate diet, in order to offset the negative effects of dietary restriction.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)