Grubs up grains' protein Pest could give grains a nutritional boost. 11 December 2001 ERICA KLARREICH Next time you find worms in your sack of flour, try adding water, salt and oil and cooking the mixture on a hot griddle. Tortillas made with minced mealworm larvae, which plague stored wheat products, are excellent sources of protein and essential fatty acids, a new study finds. Larvae have nearly as high a proportion of protein as meat, says Ana Barba de la Rosa, a molecular biologist at the Technological Institute of Celaya in Mexico and a member of the team that performed the study1. Their 20 intrepid volunteers were enthusiastic about the taste of cornmeal tortillas supplemented with ground larvae, Barba de la Rosa says. "They were much better than normal tortillas," she says. "It seems that the fatty acids from the insects gave them extra flavour." Yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor), polished beetles about half an inch long, lay sticky eggs in flour and cereals. The larvae that emerge to feed on the grains can halve wheat production in developing countries. But the pests could be a blessing in disguise, Barba de la Rosa suggests. "Maybe you can turn these insects into food," she says. The larvae could be an important source of protein in poor Mexican communities, she proposes. Integrating the larvae into tortillas, the main staple, instead of eating them directly, should get rid of the 'ugh!' factor, she hopes. Using insects as protein supplements could be feasible if people were willi ng to accept them, says David Thurnham at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, who studies nutrition in the developing world. "It might be possible, particularly in a poor culture where there are not a lot of choices of high-quality protein." Commercial tortilla-makers are unlikely to be putting bugs in their products any time soon, says Louis Guerra, marketing director of Rudy's Tortillas based in Dallas, Texas. "I don't see how you'd market a product with a bug in it of any kind." Nature's snacks For some, the puzzle is why people don't eat more insects. "They're nature's perfect snack food," says Doug Whitman, an entomologist at Illinois State University. "Anyone splitting logs for winter is going to come across lots of big, juicy beetle grubs full of protein and lipids." Entomologists have been eating chocolate-chip mealworm cookies at conferences for years Christopher Carlton, Louisiana State University Only Western cultures turn up their noses at eating bugs, he says. "In Thailand, for instance, you'll find giant water bugs, fried grasshoppers and beetles in the markets." Entomologists have been eating chocolate-chip mealworm cookies at conferences for years, says Christopher Carlton, who studies beetles at Louisiana State University. His own favourite is lightly roasted grasshoppers with a little salt. "Those are very good if you pull the legs and wings off," he says. "Otherwise they get caught in your throat." References Aguilar-Miranda, E. et al. Characteristics of maize flour tortilla supplemented with ground Tenebrio molitor larvae. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Advanced online publication, DOI: 10.1021/jf010691y (2001). © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.