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Insect Diets: Science
and Technology
Allen Carson Cohen
CRC Press LLC
Boca Raton, FL
2004; 324 pp.
Price: $129.00, ISBN: 0-8493-1577-8
Several text books and
monographs have been written about insect diets, particularly on insect diet
formulations. This text book, however, is not a laboratory manual of procedures
or a “cookbook” of insect diet recipes; this book gives a comprehensive account
of how various ingredients and processing techniques make insect diets function
properly. The book provides a detailed explanation of the nutrient classes in
terms of insects’ nutritional requirements. The author explains insect diets in
terms of overall insect feeding behavior and biology including feeding stimuli,
food ingestion, digestion, absorption, and metabolism. The book explains the
effects and importance of various processing steps in the preparation of diets,
physical and chemical interactions of the various diet components, and the
importance of the application of a quality assessment program in rearing
systems.
One of the most
important aspects of this book is that it incorporates the knowledge of and
literature on food science and technology as applied to humans and livestock
(Chapter 1), and urges insect diet workers to use the vast information available
there. Chapter 2 deals with diet terminology, the history of insect diet
science, and some of the breakthroughs in developing insect diets. Chapter 3 is
a description of various insect diet components and their specific functions.
These include all the nutrient classes and various additives to diets such as
protective ingredients, nutritionally inert ingredients that are used in diets
to provide texture and chelating agents. This chapter also provides a
nutritional profile of five prominent diet components (wheat germ, soy flour,
egg yolk, broccoli florets, and beef liver), which readers may find useful when
planning to develop a diet. In Chapter 4, the author asks the question, “What
makes a diet successful or unsuccessful?” and provides answers by drawing
examples from various past failures and successes. The chemistry and physics of
insect diets are covered in Chapter 5 with important discussions on
bioenergetics, importance of water, pH, buffers, antioxidants, texture and
physical qualities of diets, and the chemistry of various nutrient classes and
their importance in diets.
Once a good diet is
developed and adopted for rearing, it is risky to make changes in the diet or in
the procedures; this aspect of rearing with some suggestions for making
effective changes if and when necessary are presented in Chapter 6. Chapter 7
provides a comprehensive discussion of insect feeding biology, including
descriptions of mouthparts, digestion, and the absorption and utilization of
nutrients (with photos and illustrations). Chapter 8, “Order in Nature and
Complexity in Insect Diets,” examines “some innocuous factors that can become
amplified and lead to undesired outcomes in insect rearing facilities.” The
author gives various examples and describes various factors that influence diet
complexity.
Chapter 9 provides an
understanding of how the knowledge of insect nutritional ecology links with the
development of effective artificial diets. The reader will also find a
comprehensive discussion on “efficiency indices” as defined in nutritional
ecology. Chapter 10 gives some guidelines to develop artificial insect diets and
discusses difficulties in diet development methodologies. Chapter 11 discusses
problem-solving strategies, quality assessment, and quality control standards
that must be observed in order to rear quality insects. Chapter 12 discusses
equipment that is used for processing insect diets. The discussion includes both
small and large scale applications. Chapter 13 discusses microorganisms in diet
setting, which includes microbes that are beneficial as well as those that cause
disease, and describes how to deal with microbial contaminants of insect diet.
Chapter 14 deals with ‘safety and good insectary practices’ and discusses all
aspects of safety issues connected with insectary management.
The final chapter (15)
presents the “future prospects for insect diets,” emphasizes the practice of
applying principles from food science and food technology, the necessity of the
development of highly refined bioassays, and applying advanced technology for
detecting and handling microbial contaminants, and suggests new curricula for
21st century insect diet professionals.
The book contains eight
appendixes including a glossary, the chronological history of insect diet, lists
of vitamin and mineral mixtures used in diets, procedures of quality assessment
of microbial counts in rearing facilities, diet components and prepared diets,
measures of antioxidant activities, quality control of environmental parameters,
accuracy and precision in measuring diet components, and bioassays in diet
development. A comprehensive list of references and index complete the book.
Insect Diets:
Science and Technology
is as an excellent
reference and laboratory guide for insect diet professionals, insectary
managers, and students of entomology who are interested in insect rearing.
Because of its comprehensive treatment of insect nutrition and the physiology of
feeding, this book also can be used as a supplementary reading for an insect
physiology or structure and function course.
Muhammad F.
Chaudhury
Screwworm Research
Unit
USDA–ARS, Chiapa de
Corzo, Mexico
E-mail:
Mchaudhury2@aol.com
American Entomologist
Vol. 52, No.1, Spring 2006
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