Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 5(3), July 2006, pp. 376-379 Effect of the subterranean termite used in the South Indian folk medicine Solavan A 1, Paulmurugan R2 & Wilsanand V3* 1Department of Zoology, PMT College, Melaneelithanallur, Thirunelveli, Tamil Nadu 2Department of Radiology and the Bio-X Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA 3Department of Zoology, Sree Narayana College, Alathur, Erattakulam, Palakkad 678 682, Kerala Email: [email protected] The present investigation reports the effect of the termite, Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki, most commonly used by the South Indian tribes as food for enhancing lactation in women, on growth and reproduction in Swiss albino mice, Mus musculus Linn. Dietary supplementation with termite to Swiss albino mice significantly increased the percentage growth rate and number of litters delivered, when compared to the control groups fed with normal rodent pellets. The percentage growth rate of experimental male and female mice fed on Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki showed a significant increase (P<0.01), when compared to the respective control groups. Results on litter production revealed a 22% increase in the experimental groups supplemented with termite, when compared to the control groups. The present results suggest that termite can be used as a viable protein rich feed. Studies on termite culture on a commercial scale and its use, as an alternative protein rich feed for poultry would probably go a long way. Key words: Ethnozoology, Ethnopharmacology, Folk medicine, South India, Termite, Kanikkar tribes, Pallian tribes IPC Int. Cl.8: A61K35/64, A61P15/00, A61P15/04, A61P39/00, A61P39/02 Ethnozoological studies conducted among South Termites are a valuable source of protein, fat, and Indian tribes revealed that Kanikkar and Pallian tribes essential amino acids in the diets of both primates and have been using the subterranean termite, modern humans20-23. The common species of termites Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki as food to enhance used as food in African countries include Macrotermes lactation in women1. The use of termite as human bellicosus, Macrotermes falciger Gerstaecker, food in the South and Northeastern parts of India has M. natalensis, M. subhyalinus Rambur, also been reported earlier2-4 . The consumption of M. mossambicus (Hagen), M. bellicosus (Smeathman), termite by human beings has been known long before. M. natalensis Haviland, Pseudacanthotermes and The hunter-gatherer people of Africa have, long used Odontotermes sp10,12,24-26. Syntermes parallelus termite to supplement their diets5. Recently, the South Silvestri, S. snyderi Emerson, Macrotermes sp. African and French researchers have reported that the Cornitermes sp. and Cornitermes sp are some of the Ape-man Australopithecus robustus, who lived more common termite species used as food in Latin than million years ago, had a taste for termite6. Also, American countries15-16. In Asia also, many species of chimpanzees are reported to ‘fish’ for termites by termites like Odontotermes feae Linn., Reticulitermes using grass stalk7-9. Termite forms an important part flavipes Kollar and O. formosanus are used as of the human diet in many parts of Africa, Latin food1,3,17. 2-4,10-18 America, Asia and Australia . Several large Termites are rich source of protein and thus serves vertebrate animals like the anteaters, echidna, as an important diet. While a rump steak yields 322 pangolins, spiny anteaters, aardvarks, and aardwolves calories per 100 gm, and codfish 74, termites provide eat almost exclusively termites and ants. No other 560 calories per 100 gm 27. Insects vary widely in fat group of insects has such a wide variety of specialist and thus energy content. Termites rank among the mammalian and vertebrate predators. Termite highest in fat content. A calorific value of 761 kcal (Hospitalitermes bicolor Haviland) has been reported (~3196kJ)/100gm (dry, ash-free, weight basis) for the to be the main diet of the pitcher plant Nepenthes 19 winged sexual forms of the African termite, albomarginata Lobb ex Lindl . Macrotermes falciger Gerstacker has been reported. _____________ The winged forms of another African species, *Corresponding author Macrotermes subhyalinus Rambur was found to SOLAVAN et al.: EFFECT OF TERMITE USED IN THE SOUTH INDIAN FOLK MEDICINE 377 contain 613kcal (~2575kJ)/100gm (dry weight) 26. periods of light and dark conditions of 12 hrs each. Winged adults of the termite, Macrotermes They were maintained under standard (26-30ºC) subhyalinus, are high in magnesium and copper 26. laboratory conditions by providing standard rodent The high content of iron and zinc in many edible pellet and water ad libitum. insects is of particular interest. Iron deficiency is a Group1: Control- Mice receiving rodent pellets and major problem in women's diets in the developing water only. Six pairs each of male and female (F0) world, particularly among pregnant women, and mice of same age group were used for the studies. [ especially in Africa28. Thus, termite formed an Group 2: Experimental-Mice receiving rodent important diet for pregnant women and children of pellets plus termite. 100 mg of ground termite was African countries10. mixed with rodent pellets and orally administered to In the present investigation, an attempt has been six pairs each of male and female mice for 14 weeks. made to study the effect of the termite O. formosanus The body weight and time required for giving birth to on growth and reproduction in Swiss albino mice, young ones, number of young ones from each group, Mus musculus Linn. external abnormalities in the young ones and sex ratio of young ones were recorded. Results were expressed Methodology as mean ± SE and subjected to Student's t-test. Protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents were The subterranean termite O. formosanus Shiraki 20-22 (Fig.1) collected from Kadayanallur, Tirunelveli analysed by standard methods . district, Tamil Nadu by digging the soil, was identified at Agricultural College, Mandya, Without feeding Karnataka. Voucher specimen is deposited in the termites 16 Environmental Biotechnology Division, Rajiv Gandhi With feeding termites Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum, Kerala. The 12 collected organisms were maintained with their 8 mounds and were used for different studies. Swiss albino mice, Mus musculus Linn., weighing 4 25 ± 2 gm in the age groups of 5-6 weeks were caged 0 Growth (%) in groups of 6 per cage and kept under alternating 1234567891011121314 -4 -8 Time (week) C SE SE E -3.12 0.01 0.2 -3.5 1 0 0 0 0.4 2 1.56 0.1 0.1 2.43 3 2.34 0.2 0.8 6.34 4 5.46 0.6 0.6 6.5 5 7.03 0.8 1 8.94 6 5.62 0.7 0.6 7.64 7 5.46 0.4 0.7 8.29 8 4.68 0.3 0.4 9.1 9 4.84 0.5 0.5 8.13 10 3.43 0.2 0.9 9.75 11 5.46 0.6 1.1 10.08 12 5.46 0.6 0.8 9.91 13 5.62 0.4 1.2 10.4 14 Fig.2⎯Effect of termite supplemented food on percentage growth Fig. 1⎯Subterranean termite Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki in experimental male mice 378 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 5, No. 3, JULY 2006 second time during the tenth week of experiment Without termites 54 compared to the control groups. A sudden decline in With termites the percentage growth rate during the eleventh week 44 in the control female mice and the seventh and 34 thirteenth week in the experimental mice has been attributed to parturition. Analysis of the major organic 24 nutrients in the termite O. formosanus revealed a high Growth (%) 14 percentage of protein (47) followed by lipids (9) and carbohydrates (2). 4 Dietary supplementation of termite to Swiss albino 1234567891011121314 -6 mice, M. musculus, treated separately with acephate Time (week) and endosulfan, significantly decreased the toxic effect of pesticides and increased litter production C SE C E SE E more than in those given the pesticides alone both in 0.43 0.05 2.68 0.2 1 the F0 and F1 generations, implying that the 4.74 1.2 5.87 0.3 2 components of the termite may be inducing the 7.75 1.6 17.56 1.2 3 activities of detoxifying enzymes present in Swiss 6.46 1.4 24.98 2.6 4 albino mice. High nutritive value of the termite 9.05 1.7 36.74 3.7 5 coupled with its probable antitoxic role strongly 12.93 1.8 40.42 4.2 6 suggests the possibility of termite as an alternative 17.67 1.8 27.58 2.2 7 protein rich viable feed particularly for poultry. 25 2.6 27.4 2.6 8 Termites have not been exploited in a large way 29.65 3.2 29.47 3.1 9 mainly because of the difficulty in harvesting in large 35.67 4.6 32.46 3.6 10 numbers and extracting them from soil debris. Studies 20.65 2.9 46.87 2.8 11 on termite culture on a commercial scale and its use 14.8 1.9 55.6 3.6 12 as an alternative protein rich feed for poultry would 16.55 1.6 27.46 2.4 13 go a long way. 14.8 1.7 22.63 2.2 14 Fig.3⎯Effect of termite supplemented food on percentage growth Acknowledgement in experimental female mice Authors are grateful to Dr D Rajagopal, Agricultural College, Mandya, Karnataka, for Results and discussion identifying the termite. One of the authors (AS) The percentage growth rate of male and female thanks Ranjith Singh, Sree Paramakalyani College, mice fed with O. formosanus showed a significant Alwarkuruchi, Tamil Nadu, for encouragement.