Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children
Edible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cros...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Research
2025
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| _version_ | 1824459151198126080 |
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| author | Hilaj, N Boit, T Andang’o, P Zeder, C Mwangi, MN Hummel, M Velazco, ON van Loon, JJA Dicke, M Zimmermann, MB Melse-Boonstra, A |
| author_facet | Hilaj, N Boit, T Andang’o, P Zeder, C Mwangi, MN Hummel, M Velazco, ON van Loon, JJA Dicke, M Zimmermann, MB Melse-Boonstra, A |
| author_sort | Hilaj, N |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Edible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cross-over study with children aged 24–36 months old in Kenya from September-November 2021. For this, children were randomized to consume two different experimental meals labeled with stable isotopes of zinc (Zn) at two different days, separated by a wash-out period of one month. Primary endpoints were the differences in amount of absorbed zinc (AZ) from maize-based meals enriched with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled house crickets (2.61 mg Zn, n = 28) in comparison with meals enriched with 68Zn (low-enriched: 0.90 mg Zn, n = 29); high-enriched: 3.24 mg Zn, n = 28) or with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled low-chitin cricket flour (2.51 mg Zn, n = 25), whereas the secondary endpoints were the differences in fractional zinc absorption. We found that AZ from meals with whole crickets (geometric mean: 0.36 mg; 95%CI: 0.30, 0.43) was 2.6 times higher than from low-enriched maize meals (0.14 mg; 0.11, 0.16; P < 0.001), while it was not different from low-chitin cricket flour meals. Absorbed zinc from both cricket meals was higher than that from high-enriched meals. No severe adverse side events were reported. We conclude that edible house crickets are a good source of well-absorbable zinc, and their increased consumption could contribute to the alleviation of zinc deficiency. This trial was registered at the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry as PACTR202104533831364. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:37:13Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:f92dbdc7-62b7-4f7d-8819-15513373c302 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-19T04:37:13Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Nature Research |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:f92dbdc7-62b7-4f7d-8819-15513373c3022025-02-03T20:03:40ZZinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school childrenJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:f92dbdc7-62b7-4f7d-8819-15513373c302EnglishJisc Publications RouterNature Research2025Hilaj, NBoit, TAndang’o, PZeder, CMwangi, MNHummel, MVelazco, ONvan Loon, JJADicke, MZimmermann, MBMelse-Boonstra, AEdible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cross-over study with children aged 24–36 months old in Kenya from September-November 2021. For this, children were randomized to consume two different experimental meals labeled with stable isotopes of zinc (Zn) at two different days, separated by a wash-out period of one month. Primary endpoints were the differences in amount of absorbed zinc (AZ) from maize-based meals enriched with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled house crickets (2.61 mg Zn, n = 28) in comparison with meals enriched with 68Zn (low-enriched: 0.90 mg Zn, n = 29); high-enriched: 3.24 mg Zn, n = 28) or with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled low-chitin cricket flour (2.51 mg Zn, n = 25), whereas the secondary endpoints were the differences in fractional zinc absorption. We found that AZ from meals with whole crickets (geometric mean: 0.36 mg; 95%CI: 0.30, 0.43) was 2.6 times higher than from low-enriched maize meals (0.14 mg; 0.11, 0.16; P < 0.001), while it was not different from low-chitin cricket flour meals. Absorbed zinc from both cricket meals was higher than that from high-enriched meals. No severe adverse side events were reported. We conclude that edible house crickets are a good source of well-absorbable zinc, and their increased consumption could contribute to the alleviation of zinc deficiency. This trial was registered at the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry as PACTR202104533831364. |
| spellingShingle | Hilaj, N Boit, T Andang’o, P Zeder, C Mwangi, MN Hummel, M Velazco, ON van Loon, JJA Dicke, M Zimmermann, MB Melse-Boonstra, A Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title | Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title_full | Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title_fullStr | Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title_short | Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children |
| title_sort | zinc absorption from maize based meals enriched with edible house crickets a randomized crossover stable isotope study in kenyan pre school children |
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