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10.3390/foods9040389
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Article

Nutritional Composition of Apis mellifera Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages

by
Sampat Ghosh
1,
Ho-Yong Sohn
2,
Su-Jin Pyo
2,
Annette Bruun Jensen
3,
Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow
1,4 and
Chuleui Jung
1,5,*
1
Agricultural Science and Technology Research Institute, Andong National University, Andong 36729, Korea
2
Department of Food and Nutrition, Andong National University, Andong 36729, Korea
3
Department of Plant and Environmental Science, University of Copenhagen, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
4
Department of Genetics and Ecology, Oulu University, SF-90140 Oulu, Finland
5
Department of Plant Medicals, Andong National University, Andong 36729, Korea
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Foods 2020, 9(4), 389; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040389
Submission received: 28 February 2020 / Revised: 25 March 2020 / Accepted: 26 March 2020 / Published: 27 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Insects as Innovative Foods: Nutritional, Functional and Acceptability Assessments)
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Abstract

We compared nutrient compositions of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones of different developmental stages from two different populations—the Italian honey bee reared in Korea and Buckfast bees from Denmark. Analyses included amino acid, fatty acid, and mineral content as well as evaluations of antioxidant properties and haemolysis activities. The compositions of total amino acids, and thus protein content of the insects, increased with development. A similar trend was observed for minerals presumably due to the consumption of food in the adult stage. In contrast, total fatty acid amounts decreased with development. Altogether, seventeen amino acids, including all the essential ones, except tryptophan, were determined. Saturated fatty acids dominated over monounsaturated fatty acids in the pupae, but the reverse held true for the adults. Drones were found to be rich in minerals and the particularly high iron as well as K/Na ratio was indicative of the nutritional value of these insects. Among the three developmental stages, adult Buckfast drones exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. Bearing in mind the overall high nutritional value, i.e., high amino acids, minerals and less fatty acids, late pupae and adult drones can be useful for human consumption while the larvae or early pupal stage can be recommended as feed. However, owing to their relatively high haemolysis activity, we advocate processing prior to the consumption of these insects.
Keywords: Amino acids; fatty acids; minerals; antioxidant; antimicrobial; supplement; sustainable food; food safety Amino acids; fatty acids; minerals; antioxidant; antimicrobial; supplement; sustainable food; food safety

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ghosh, S.; Sohn, H.-Y.; Pyo, S.-J.; Jensen, A.B.; Meyer-Rochow, V.B.; Jung, C. Nutritional Composition of Apis mellifera Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages. Foods 2020, 9, 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040389

AMA Style

Ghosh S, Sohn H-Y, Pyo S-J, Jensen AB, Meyer-Rochow VB, Jung C. Nutritional Composition of Apis mellifera Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages. Foods. 2020; 9(4):389. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040389

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ghosh, Sampat, Ho-Yong Sohn, Su-Jin Pyo, Annette Bruun Jensen, Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow, and Chuleui Jung. 2020. "Nutritional Composition of Apis mellifera Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages" Foods 9, no. 4: 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040389

APA Style

Ghosh, S., Sohn, H.-Y., Pyo, S.-J., Jensen, A. B., Meyer-Rochow, V. B., & Jung, C. (2020). Nutritional Composition of Apis mellifera Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages. Foods, 9(4), 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040389

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