Verspoor, Rudi L. and Soglo, Murielle and Adeoti, Razack and Djouaka, Rousseau and Edwards, Sam and Fristedt, Rikard and Langton, Maud and Moriana, Rosana and Osborne, Matthew and Parr, Catherine L. and Powell, Kathryn and Hurst, Gregory D. D. and Landberg, Rikard
(2020).
Mineral analysis reveals extreme manganese concentrations in wild harvested and commercially available edible termites.
Scientific Reports. 10
, 6146
, 1-9
[Research article]
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Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 1MB |
Abstract
Termites are widely used as a food resource, particularly in Africa and Asia. Markets for insects as food are also expanding worldwide. To inform the development of insect-based foods, we analysed selected minerals (Fe-Mn-Zn-Cu-Mg) in wild-harvested and commercially available termites. Mineral values were compared to selected commercially available insects. Alate termites, of the genera Macrotermes and Odontotermes, showed remarkably high manganese (Mn) content (292-515mg/100gdw), roughly 50-100 times the concentrations detected in other insects. Other mineral elements occur at moderate concentrations in all insects examined. On further examination, the Mn is located primarily in the abdomens of the Macrotermes subhyalinus; with scanning electron microscopy revealing small spherical structures highly enriched for Mn. We identify the fungus comb, of Macrotermes subhyanus, as a potential biological source of the high Mn concentrations. Consuming even small quantities of termite alates could exceed current upper recommended intakes for Mn in both adults and children. Given the widespread use of termites as food, a better understanding the sources, distribution and bio-availability of these high Mn concentrations in termite alates is needed.
Authors/Creators: | Verspoor, Rudi L. and Soglo, Murielle and Adeoti, Razack and Djouaka, Rousseau and Edwards, Sam and Fristedt, Rikard and Langton, Maud and Moriana, Rosana and Osborne, Matthew and Parr, Catherine L. and Powell, Kathryn and Hurst, Gregory D. D. and Landberg, Rikard | ||||||
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Title: | Mineral analysis reveals extreme manganese concentrations in wild harvested and commercially available edible termites | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Scientific Reports | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2020 | ||||||
Volume: | 10 | ||||||
Article number: | 6146 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 9 | ||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||
ISSN: | 2045-2322 | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 401 Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries > Food Science | ||||||
Keywords: | edible termites, mineral analysis | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-105714 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-105714 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 17102 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Department of Molecular Sciences | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 22 Jun 2020 11:07 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 22 Aug 2020 22:49 |
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