Proximate composition and cholesterol concentrations of Rhynchophorus phoenicis and Oryctes monoceros larvae subjected to different heat treatments

The proximate composition and cholesterol concentrations of Rhynchophorus phoenicis and Oryctes monoceros larvae subjected to different heat treatments were determined. For both R. phoenicis and O. monoceros, lipid and cholesterol contents were significantly lower in the smoke-dried samples (P <0.05) compared to the raw samples. The cholesterol levels in R. phoenicis were as high as 500.90 and 514.63 mg/100g dry weight basis (DWB) for raw and fried samples, respectively, but decreased to 295.20 mg/100 g DWB in the smoke-dried samples. Similarly, the cholesterol levels in O. monoceros were 223.50, 245.46 and 45.05 mg/100 g DWB for raw, fried and smoke-dried samples, respectively. On the other hand, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the ash, protein and carbohydrate contents in the heat-treated samples of both larvae except for moisture which decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the fried samples. The high protein, oil and ash levels of the larvae indicate that they are good sources of these nutrients.