Edible caterpillars of Imbrasia truncata and Imbrasia epimethea contain lipids and proteins of high potential for nutrition

•Emperor Moths edible caterpillars were collected at the Yaoundé market place.•Imbrasia truncata and I. epimethea were identified by DNA bar coding.•The caterpillars were source of proteins and all indispensable amino acids.•Their lipids were mainly composed of neutral lipids, rich in α-linolenic acid.•Their tocopherol isomer distributions differed according to the species. Imbrasia truncata and I. epimethea caterpillars were evaluated as dietary protein and lipid sources. They contained approximately 7.0 g/100 g fresh weight (FW) of lipids and 20.0 g/100 g FW of proteins calculed with determined nitrogen to protein conversion factors: 6.01 ± 0.21 and 6.27 ± 0.15 for I. truncata and I. epimethea, respectively. Unsaturated fatty acids represented about 2.63 ± 0.21 g/100 g FW for I. truncata and 3.24 ± 0.21 g/100 g FW for I. epimethea, with α-linolenic acid as major fatty acid (around 1.88 ± 0.15 g/100 g FW for I. truncata 2.17 ± 0.13 g/100 g FW for I. epimethea) and very low n-6/n-3 ratios: 0.15 (I. truncata) and 0.27 (I. epimethea). Polar lipids (phospholipids and glycolipids + sulfolipids), representing between 4 and 6% of lipids, contained little amounts of arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6). The major tocopherol isomer was α−tocopherol in I. truncata (0.52 ± 0.08 g/100 g FW) and γ−tocopherol in I. epimethea (1.00 ± 0.08 g/100 g FW). The proteins of both insect included all indispensable amino acids at amounts (mg/g protein) higher than the indispensable amino acid requirement patterns recommended by WHO/FAO/UNU (2007). In conclusion, Imbrasia caterpillars exhibit a great nutritional potential due to the presence of good quality proteins and healthy fat