A minireview of the medicinal and edible insects from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Abstract

Entomoceuticals define a subset of pharmaceuticals derived from insects. The therapeutic effect of insect-derived drugs has been empirically validated by the direct use of various folk medicines originating from three sources in particular: the glandular secretions of insects (e.g., silk, honey, venom), the body parts of the insect or the whole used live or by various processing (e.g., cooked, toasted, ground), and active ingredients extracted from insects or insect-microbe symbiosis. Insects have been widely exploited in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) relative to other ethnomedicines, especially in the prospect of insect species for medicinal uses. It is noticeable that most of these entomoceuticals are also exploited as health food for improving immune function. In addition, some edible insects are rich in animal protein and have high nutritional value, which are used in the food field, such as insect wine, health supplements and so on. In this review, we focused on 12 insect species that have been widely used in traditional Chinese herbal formulae but have remained less investigated for their biological properties in previous studies. We also combined the entomoceutical knowledge with recent advances in insect omics. This review specifies the underexplored medicinal insects from ethnomedicine and shows their specific medicinal and nutritional roles in traditional medicine.

Consumers’ Perceptions about Edible Insects’ Nutritional Value and Health Effects: Study Involving 14 Countries

“…All of these questions present facts that are known by some of the participants in the study. The use of insects in traditional medicine in some areas of the globe is a long-time practice, as discussed by Zhang et al [ 54 ], Siddiqui et al [ 55 ], and Figueiredo et al [ 56 ]. The ethnoentomological tradition is well documented across Africa, Asia (India, China and South Korea), Latin America and Mexico.…”

“…The insects are used as food (entomophagy) and medicine (entomotherapy) and are used in rite-of-passage rituals. Some of the beneficial health effects described include improving immune function and treating rheumatism, anaemia, cancer and skin diseases [ 54 ]. Many of these traditional usages of insects have been studied and confirmed in light of present science.…”

Edible black ant Smith (Carebara vidua) as human food – A systematic review

“…Furthermore, Polyrhachis vicina Roger contains highest zinc (17.60 mg/100 g of dry weight) and able to provide a sufficient amount of daily intake of zinc according to the recommended dietary allowance for adults (8-12 mg/day for adults age ranging 19-70 years) (USA NIH, 2023). Surprisingly, it is higher than that of beef (3.9 mg/100 g), pork (1.8 mg/100 g), and oyster (0.2 mg/100 g) (Marangoni et al, 2015;Zhu et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2023). Thus, the consumption of edible black ants is possible to decrease iron and zinc deficiency in the population of developing countries.…”