A systematic review of human studies published in the journal Nutrients found that insect proteins are just as good as other protein sources. They provide the body with essential amino acids and other beneficial substances.
Edible insects are considered a very nutritious food in many countries, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania and Latin America. Humans consume more than 2,000 species of insects; Of these, beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, insects, dragonflies, termites, flies and cockroaches are the most commonly eaten insects worldwide.
In this systematic review, researchers analyzed the results of randomized controlled trials and studies examining the health effects of insect consumption in adults. The scientists searched various scientific databases to identify human in vivo studies published between 2012 and 2022. From an initial screening of 1,063 studies, they selected nine randomized controlled trials and five allergenicity studies.
The main outcomes of the selected studies were iron absorption, amino acid absorption and muscle protein synthesis, amino acid synthesis and appetite regulation, microbiota and disease management . Insect-based products tested in these trials included protein or meal derived from crickets, small mealworms, and silkworms.
This systematic review of existing literature shows that insect proteins are a valuable source of nutrition with many benefits for good health. Further research is needed to fully understand the safety and benefits of edible insects so that they can be introduced into the regular human diet.