Nutritional and fatty acid profiles of sun-dried edible black ants (Polyrhachis vicina Roger).

Abstract

Determination of the nutritional composition of sun-dried edible black ants (Polyrhachis vicina Roger) cultivated in Zhejiang and Guizhou Provinces, China, was carried out. The Zhejiang and Guizhou ants contained 31.5% and 41.5% protein, 15.7% and 15.9% lipid, and 25.4% and 26.4% fibre respectively. Monounsaturated fatty acids were the most predominant fatty acids (71.472.7% of total fatty acids) found in both ant samples, followed by saturated fatty acids (23.825.5%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (3.13.7%). A significant amount of n-3 fatty acids was detected: 87.4 mg/100g and 145.6 mg/100g in Zhejiang and Guizhou ants respectively. Phosphorus, iron and calcium were the main minerals found in the ant samples. A small amount of selenium was also found.