Nutritional Value of Representative Termite Species With an Emphasis On Odontotermes obesus (Rambur)

Dewinged termite imagoes are considered to be delicious human food around the world. The nutrient composition may vary with respect to the species. In the present study, imagoes of three termite species, viz. Odontoter­mes obesus, Coptotermes heimi and Microtermes obesi were used to compare their protein composition. Additionally, the commonest species, O. obesus was used for proximate and mineral composition analysis. The nutritional analysis of termites indicated a higher percentage of protein in C. heimi, followed by O. obesus. The proximate analysis of O. obesus imagoes revealed a higher proportion of crude fat followed by crude protein. Macrominerals were recorded in a higher proportion with potassium as one of the major minerals followed by sodium, while in microelements iron and zinc were represented in greater quantities.