Tenebrio molitor L., entomophagy and processing into ready to use therapeutic ingredients: a review

Abstract

Humans have consumed insects for thousands of years. Durst1 made reference to insect consumption before Christian times by Europeans and its consumption has also been described in the Bible. They have been generally consumed in very poor countries2 or reared as feed for reptile, fish and avian pets in developed countries.3 Historically, insects have been eaten in Africa, Asia and Latin America.4 Currently, there are more than 2,000 insect species consumed in 113 countries all over the world.5 The consumption of whole insects and insect-containing foods historically have had low acceptance in countries in the Western world. In view of the increasing world population demands for protein with low environmental impacts, proteins extracted from insects can have diverse applications and might potentially have greater success for acceptance as an ingredient for human foods.4,6