Dynamics in nutrients, sterols and total flavonoid content during processing of the edible Long-Horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens Serville) for food

[Display omitted] •Ruspolia differens Serville is consumed as healthy food in more than 20 countries worldwide.•Deep frying significantly reduces the crude protein, ash, and fibre contents of R. differens.•Blanching method increases Omega-3, Omega-6, flavonoids, and sterols levels of R. differens.•Blanched and boiled products of R. differens showed considerably high iron and zinc contents.•Implications of dietary and therapeutic compounds of R. differens on nutrition and health are discussed. Long-horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens Serville) is a tasty delicacy in over 20 African countries. This study evaluated the impact of diverse post-harvest thermal treatment (blanching, boiling, toasting, and deep-frying) on the nutrients, total flavonoid content and sterols preservation of R. differens products. Crude protein, ash, and fibre of R. differens was drastically reduced by deep-frying technique. There was increase in Omega-3 (α-linolenic acid), Omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic and arachidonic acids) and sterols [(22Z)-27-Norergosta-5,22-dien-3β-ol, cholesterol, campesterol, cholest-4-ene-3-one and β-sitosterol] and flavonoids (2–3 folds) during blanching compared to other techniques. The iron and zinc content increased significantly in blanched and boiled products of R. differens. Thus, losses of nutrients, total flavonoid content and sterols during processing of R. differens for food can be mitigated by employing blanching technique, which is cheaper and least time-consuming. The implications of these dietary and therapeutic compounds on human nutrition and health are discussed.