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A Review of Zophobas Morio: Chemical, Nutritional and Functional

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A Review of Zophobas Morio: Chemical, Nutritional and Functional 39 A review of Zophobas morio: chemical, “ nutritional and functional characteristics Rhaissa Coelho Andrade UFBA Janaína de Carvalho Alves UFBA Mariana Nougalli Roselino UFBA 10.37885/210203200 ABSTRACT With the increase in population and the growing demand for protein, new food alternatives with less environmental impacts are being studied, such as edible insects. The objective was to carry out an integrative bibliographic review regarding the chemical, nutritional and functional characteristics of the insect Zophobas morio. For this, the descriptors were used: Zophobas morio, nutritional composition, chemical composition, functional food, probiotics and Lactobacillus to search five databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Capes and SciElo), which after reading and selection, resulted in 11 articles. This reduced number of articles is due to the fact that, even today, this species of insect is little studied. In this review, it was possible to condense the main results described in the literature regarding the dry matter, crude protein, fat, oleic acid, ash, iron and calcium parameters of Zophobas morio. Among these results, attention is drawn to the protein content of the insect, since studies have shown that comparing it to other food sources, such as meat, it is noted that the insect flour is quite superior, having about 45g of pro- tein for every 100g of flour. The values found for lipids were between 14.25 and 43.64g / 100g. In the case of iron content, the values found were from 1.65mg to 9.15mg / 100g. For calcium, the content remained between 17.7mg and 60mg / 100g. Thus, flour from the insect Zophobas morio can be a potential sustainable food source, alone or associated with other foods. Palavras-chave: Zophobas Morio, Nutritional Composition, Mealworm, Entomology. Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 534 INTRODUCTION The high population growth has required more livestock systems to satisfy this great demand, however the available areas are limited. Furthermore, these systems cause se- rious environmental problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, impacts on biodiversity and water pollution, going in the opposite direction to sustainability (VAN HUIS; OONINCX, 2017). According to data from Embrapa, in 2018, about 30.2% of the total areas of Brazil are reserved for use by farmers. Considering the size of the country, a large portion of it is destined to economic activities of soil degradation, which directly impact the environ- ment and tend to grow, according to the population increase already foreseen (EMBRAPA TERRITORIAL, 2020). An interesting alternative that can mitigate this process is the adoption of alternative sources of proteins, such as edible insects. There are more than 2000 species of edible in- sects (JONGEMA, 2015), consumed in more than 100 countries and predominantly in Africa, Asia and Latin America (DURST et al., 2010). Despite facing great cultural barriers, mainly in westernized societies, many of these insects are sources of proteins, fats and minerals, besides to bringing less environmental impacts, since they emit considerably less greenhouse gases and do not necessarily require terrestrial activities with impact on the soil (VAN HUIS et al., 2013). Studies that provide nutritional information about the types of insects that are viable for consumption are still scarce, such as Zophobas morio. This species belongs to the order Coleptera, which includes beetles, being, in the case of this species, known as dark beetles (KULMA et al., 2020). The first data on nutritional composition of Zophobas morio were presented by Barker et al. (1998), later other researchers also dedicated themselves to the study of this insect (KULMA et al., 2020; KUNTADI; ADALINA; MAHARANI, 2018; SOARES ARAÚJO et al., 2019). Thus, the objective of this work was to carry out a bibliographic review regarding the nutritional, chemical and functional characteristics of the edible insect Zophobas morio. As well as discussing the environmental implications and future perspectives on the consumption of this and other insects in isolation and/or associated with probiotic microorganisms. METHODS This study is an integrative review based on scientific articles rescued between September and October 2020, in the databases – PubMed, SciElo, Scopus, Web of Science and Capes periodic. The search strategy was made from the combination of descriptors: “Zophobas morio”, “giant mealworm larvae”, “larva de lagarta gigante”, “food”, “alimento”, Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 534 535 “functional”, “functional”, “nutritional composition”, “composição nutricional”, “chemical com- position”, “composição química”, “probiotic”, “probióticos”, “Lactobacillus”, “lactobacilos”. Articles published between 1998 and 2020 were selected. In addition, as an inclusion criterion articles in the English and Portuguese languages, original, and related to the insect Zophobas morio were considered. Articles not found in full, cases of duplicity, review articles, dissertations, theses or even cases where the study did not present data regarding the insect Zophobas morio were excluded. After the search, the titles and summary of each reference were read, where some ar- ticles have already been discarded. Subsequently, the full articles were read for evaluation. With a detailed reading of the texts, it was possible to identify the relevance of the studies, hypotheses or objectives, and according to the pre-established criteria, a total of 11 articles were included. Then, critical analyzes of the studies and records were performed, collecting information considered relevant. Details regarding these described steps are presented in the flowchart of Figure 1. Figure 1. Flowchart for selecting articles Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 536 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Implications of insect consumption as a food alternative The practice of eating insects is known as entomophagy and has been widespread for millennia, although it is still taboo in many westernized societies. Insects are rich in prote- ins, good fats, calcium, iron, and in addition, the creation of these, emits considerably less greenhouse gases when compared to most traditional herds, this aspect has positive envi- ronmental repercussions, thus, it becomes a viable option to complement food and alleviate problems related to malnutrition (VAN HUIS, 2013). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of people started to compo- se the group of chronic malnourished in the last 5 years, and the countries around the world continue to struggle with multiple forms of malnutrition. Asia remains the continent with the largest number of malnourished people (381 million), followed by Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean region (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019). Data from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statics (IBGE) estimate that of the 68,9 million permanent private households in Brazil, 36,7% are experiencing some type of food insecurity. Of this, about 3,1 million are in a situation of severe food insecurity, which is the most severe form of low household access to food, this number being more expressive in rural areas. In the case of the Northeast, severe food insecurity affects 7,1% of hou- seholds (IBGE, 2020). Take these data into account, it is worth mentioning that, in the majority, the articles evaluated in this study, brought similar approaches regarding the malnutrition of the popu- lation and, as the use of alternative foods, for example insects, are a way of work around or mitigate this problem, which, unfortunately, is quite common. A survey carried out by Department of Entomology at the University of Wageningen, in the Netherlands, showed that there are more than 2000 species of insects with potential of human consumption, including the beetles (Coleoptera), caterpillars (Lepidoptera), bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera), grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera) (JONGEMA, 2015). However, in most western countries, the entomophagy is associated with repulsion and primitive behavior. These insects are often eaten whole, but they also be processed and incorporated in other types of food (VAN HUIS,2013). In 2015, a supermarket chain, also in Netherlands, sold hamburgers and nuggets (produced by Belgian company) that contained about 16% of Lesser mealworm flour, which increases the acceptability of eating edible in- sects (VAN HUIS, 2016). In addition, there are some cookbooks that teach recipes using insects from all over the world (RAMOS-ELORDUY, 1998) and also available (VAN HUIS, GURP, DICKE, 2014), Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 Avanços em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos - Volume 3 536 537 allowing the population to learn about the use of these insects in the preparation of food and there may be incentives for their consumption. According to what is observed in the literature, to nutritionally analyze these insects, one must observe the entire environment in which they are inserted, because there are influential factors such as: type of feed offered, stage of development, sex, diet, and climatic conditions (OONINCX; DIERENFELD, 2012). Insects can be harvested from the wild or raised in designated areas, usually farms, in which living condition, diet and food quality are controlled. In addition to the feed, leftover vegetables, rice, flowers, and grass are used to feed them. After creation, the insects are
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