Edible insect nutrition and bioinformatics based nutritional assessment

Abstract

Edible insects are a sustainable food source, due to their high nutritional value and low environmental impact. This review explores how bioinformatics improves the nutritional value and farming efficiency of edible insects, focusing onTenebriomolitor (mealworms),Hermetiaillucens [black soldier fly larvae (BSFL)], andAchetadomesticus (crickets). These insects provide micronutrients like vitamin B12 and iron with 10% to 50% lipids and 30% to 70% protein. Bioinformatics is enhancing the breeding and sustainability of insects, which optimizes nutrient extraction through genomic and metabolomic analyses done by using tools like NCBI and KEGG. For commercial farming,A.domesticus andT.molitor are ideal, while BSFL are excellent in waste recycling. Unlike previous reviews centered primarily on compositional analysis, this review uniquely links genomic and metabolomic bioinformatics approaches with targeted nutritional optimization in edible insect production. Despite these advantages, challenges such as regulatory gaps, high computational costs, consumer demand in Western markets, and acceptance of insect produced products by consumers are still the challenges for their scalability. Insect farming by using bioinformatics reduces environmental impacts and offers a scalable, sustainable solution to global food security. Continued research into cost-effective computational methods and consumer acceptance strategies is essential to introduce insects into food systems. All the data present in review are broadly representative of edible insects, values fall within these intervals but vary according to feed substrate and production system.

Keywords

edible insects / sustainable nutrition / metabolic pathways / insect farming / waste recycling / bioinformatics / omics approaches

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