A Comprehensive Review of the Importance of Selected Trace Elements Present in Edible Insects

This review is intended to provide recent published information on trace elements from edible insects from various environments. Recently, insects are gaining popularity as food proteins in developing countries and press higher demand for edible insects since they may provide similar nutritional value as meat. Insects have been part of the human diet in the world for decades and at least 1900 insect species are considered edible. Furthermore, insects play a crucial role in socioeconomic by contributing to the world’s food security as well as eradicating poverty in rural communities. Generally, edible insects are considered a readily available source of proteins, carbohydrates, and chitin. They also contain considerable amounts of trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, and manganese. It has been observed that there is a great variation between mineral contents found in insects of the same or different species. Knowledge and comprehensive understanding of trace element contents of edible insects are crucial to fully maximise their utilisation in diets and prevent mineral deficiency in human beings and animals. However, most of the research on insects has focused on the nutritional contents of insects with less attention given to other nutritional components such as minerals and trace elements. The available data on trace elements from edible insects as food is limited and makes it difficult to draw estimations for the nutrient intake of humans and animals. Therefore, this review aimed to provide comprehensive information on availability of iron, zinc, copper, and manganese from selected edible insects, functions, and deficiencies in both humans and animals.