Research Focused on Edible Insects and Antioxidants

New research from Frontiers in Nutrition came out that looked at the antioxidant capacity in edible insects compared that of other antioxidant-rich food sources including orange juice and olive oil. 

Antioxidants, as seen from research conducted in the lab, are the chemical molecules that help protect cells in the body by reducing and removing cell-damaging free radicals.

The exciting results from this study found that crickets, grasshoppers, and silkworms all contained 5X the antioxidant capacity of orange juice.

 

Billion People Eat Bugs

% Protein in Crickets

Different Types of Edible Insects

Times More Antioxidants

“In case you don’t have CRICKETS, you can always do orange juice…”

In this study, scientists used edible insects commonly found in grocery stores and commercially available sources, such as crickets, grasshoppers, silkworms, mealworms, scorpions, cicadas, tarantulas, etc., and separated them into fat-soluble and water-soluble mixes for testing.  Intriguingly, cicadas were found to have more antioxidants compared to olive oil.  Even more interesting is the finding that crickets, grasshoppers and silkworms have 5X the antioxidant capacity of orange juice.

Through prior research into edible insects, we know that crickets, for example, are great sources of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and more.  However there is a lot of research still being conducted to learn more about these bugs – and we are only starting to understand the nutritional benefits.  We look forward to further studies that reveal just how amazing edible insects are!

Read the full published study referenced above on “Antioxidant Activities in vitro of Water and Liposoluble Extracts Obtained by Different Species of Edible Insects and Invertebrates” by clicking here.