Qingli Yang, Shaofang Liu, Jie Sun, Lina Yu, Chushu Zhang, Jie Bi, Zhen Yang
Journal of Insect Science 14 (139), 1-4, (15 October 2014) https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieu001
KEYWORDS: beetle, Holotrichia parallela, nutritional composition, protein quality, amino acid composition
The adult edible beetle Holotrichia parallela Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) represents a traditional food source in China. Based on nutritional analyses, adult H. parallela is high in protein (70%) and minerals and low in fat. H. parallela contained approximately 10% chitin; the corrected protein content was 66%. Oleic acid and linoleic acid were the most abundant fatty acids. Of the total amino acids in H. parallela, 47.4% were essential amino acids. The amino acid scores were 87 and 100, based on the corrected crude and net protein contents, respectively; threonine was the limiting amino acid. In vitro protein digestibility was 78%, and the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score was 89 based on the net protein content. Adult H. parallela may be a potential source of proteins and minerals for humans and animals.