Approximately 239 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa could be free from micronutrient deficiency, if only they chew on the nutrient laden sap of the tasty insects around them. Nils Nölle poster at the #Tropentag 2019 highlights this and more.



While the potential of insects to serve as alternative protein sources is already gaining reasonable traction, Nils Nölle, a student of the University of Hohenheim, chose to sail uncharted waters. His objective was to investigate the potentials of edible insects to combat hidden hunger, a less researched area. Using target edible insect species that included long-horned grasshopper, edible cricket, shea butter caterpillar, cabbage tree emperor moth and Zambezi emperor moth from Kenya and Uganda; samples were analysed for provitamins (vitamin B2 and carotenoids) and dietary minerals.

His results were not only interesting, they showed great prospects of replacing conventional animal foods. All samples had greater concentration of vitamin B2 and iron than those found in beef, pork, chicken and fish on a dry matter basis. The consumption of green leafy vegetables rich in - carotenoids by these insects was posited as a possible reason for their high micronutrient concentration. It is safe to conclude that edible insects from Kenya and Uganda show a great potential to deliver high levels of micronutrients. Shouldn’t we all eat insects and be healthy, rather than eat meat with contentious fatty acid profile.