Large conehead grasshopper (Ruspolia nitidula) flour promises as alternative nutrition source

NEWS - There is growing interest in alternative protein sources including tasty insect dishes. The large conehead grasshopper (Ruspolia nitidula) shows promise as a sustainable source of nutrition as global population growth and traditional livestock production increasingly strain environmental resources.

Cameroon’s abundant grasshoppers provide nutrients such as protein, amino acids and minerals that are essential for health and growth. The ecological benefits and health benefits make insects a solution for food security and improving future diets

Ngnaniyyi Abdoul from the University of Dschang in Cameroon and team studied the effects of replacing Clupea harengus fishmeal with R. nitidula meal in the diet of mice. Over 12 weeks, the researchers evaluated how this dietary change affected libido, sleep, hair growth and overall health.

Replacing fishmeal with R. nitidula meal resulted in significant health improvements in mice. Libido was increased with increased intromission and ejaculation compared to mice fed fishmeal or a protein-deficient diet.

Sleep quality improved and was more restful. Hair quality was significantly superior with 94.58% of hair in optimal condition compared to only 5.55% and 0.27% in the fishmeal and protein-deficient groups, respectively. Mice also showed greater weight gain.

"We highlight the significant potential of insects such as R. nitidula as an alternative protein source. Grasshoppers meet nutritional needs and offer substantial health benefits, including increased libido, better sleep and better hair quality with broad implications for animal and human diets," said Abdoul.

R. nitidula, which occurs naturally in Africa, Europe and Asia, has the potential to be a sustainable and nutrient-rich alternative protein source for animal feed and could play a role in addressing human malnutrition, especially in resource-limited environments.

Original research

Abdoul N, Akwanjoh SR, Harding SN, et al. Nutritional and health benefits of Cameroonian grasshopper (Ruspolia nitidula) meal: effects on libido, sleep, hair growth and hunger in rats. Food Science of Animal Products, 2024, 2(2): 9240068, DOI:10.26599/FSAP.2024.9240068

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...

Asian foxtail (Uraria crinita)

Asian foxtail or cat's tail bean ( Uraria crinita ) is a species of plant in Fabaceae, a perennial, upright shrub with woody stems at least at the base, up to 2 meters high in forests, agricultural land, waterways, used as a medicinal herb, green manure and sometimes planted in the garden as an ornamental plant. U. crinita has elongated leaves, rounded base, pointed tip, a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, rough surface, dark green with white spots. Petiole short or less than 0.5 cm and brownish red. Compound flower in spike shape, purple and white triangular crown. Long flower stalk, erect, 15-20 cm long and only at the end of the flower. The crown slowly falls off and leaves behind a stalk that is shaped like coir or light yellow pads. Asian foxtail grows in dry grasslands, open forests, trash cans, roadsides, sandy areas and sometimes in deciduous forests, elevations of 0-1500 meters and does not grow in waterlogged places. The different parts are often used in t...

Brazilian vervain (Verbena brasiliensis)

Brazilian vervain ( Verbena brasiliensis ) is a species of plant in the Verbenaceae, an annual shrub with erect stems, up to 1 meter high, triangular or semi-spherical in shape with sharp corners, green, white-haired, lower branches in an opposite arrangement, branches above grows in an irregular formation. V. brasiliensis has elongated leaves, up to 20 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, sharp tip, deeply serrated or flat margins, dark green in color, a main vein in the middle and whitish in color, several minor veins laterally, rough and stiff surface. Inflorescences in panicles at the end of a long stalk up to 5 cm long. The flower petals are 3 mm long, 5 lobed and tubular in shape. The corolla is formed from fused petals and spreads open at the tip, only slightly longer than the calyx. Flowers have reproductive organs of both sexes. Superior and bicarpellary ovaries. The fruit is a schizocarp or dried fruit that splits when ripe. Wrapped in petals. Nutlets are triangular in cross-sec...

Dlium