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Review
. 2022 Dec 7;11(24):3961.
doi: 10.3390/foods11243961.

Nutritional Composition, Health Benefits, and Application Value of Edible Insects: A Review

Yaxi Zhou  1   2 , Diandian Wang  1 , Shiqi Zhou  1 , Hao Duan  1 , Jinhong Guo  1 , Wenjie Yan  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Nutritional Composition, Health Benefits, and Application Value of Edible Insects: A Review

Yaxi Zhou et al. Foods. .

Abstract

For thousands of years, edible insects have been used as food to alleviate hunger and improve malnutrition. Some insects have also been used as medicines because of their therapeutic properties. This is not only due to the high nutritional value of edible insects, but more importantly, the active substances from edible insects have a variety of biofunctional activities. In this paper, we described and summarized the nutritional composition of edible insects and discussed the biological functions of edible insects and their potential benefits for human health. A summary analysis of the findings for each active function confirms that edible insects have the potential to develop functional foods and medicines that are beneficial to humans. In addition, we analyzed the issues that need to be considered in the application of edible insects and the current status of edible insects in food and pharmaceutical applications. We concluded with a discussion of regulations related to edible insects and an outlook on future research and applications of edible insects. By analyzing the current state of research on edible insects, we aim to raise awareness of the use of edible insects to improve human health and thus promote their better use and development.

Keywords: active ingredients; applications; edible insects; health benefits; nutrition; pharmacological functions; safety.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 5
Figure 5
Potential anti-cancer mechanisms of action of insect active ingredients [171].
Figure 1
Figure 1
Nutrient composition of edible insects.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The protein content of edible insects of several common orders [10].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structure of cordycepin, cellulose, chitin, chitosan, and lecithin [85,90].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Biological functions of insect active ingredients and their potential mechanisms of action.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The antimicrobial activity of insect active substances and their effects on intestinal bacteria, as well as the advantages of action effect.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Therapeutic effects of edible insects on several common diseases.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Different attitudes towards edible insects as food.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Edible insects in food applications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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