Data underlying the publication: Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children

Edible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cross-over study with children aged 24-36 months old in Kenya from September-November 2021. For this, children were randomized to consume two different experimental meals labeled with stable isotopes of zinc (Zn) at two different days, separated by a wash-out period of one month. Primary endpoints were the differences in amount of absorbed zinc (AZ) from maize-based meals enriched with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled house crickets (2.61 mg Zn, n= 28) in comparison with meals enriched with 68Zn (low-enriched: 0.90 mg Zn, n= 29) ; high-enriched: 3.24 mg Zn, n= 28) or with intrinsically 67Zn-labeled low-chitin cricket flour (2.51 mg Zn, n= 25 ), whereas the secondary endpoints were the differences in fractional zinc absorption. We found that AZ from meals with whole crickets (geometric mean: 0.36 mg; 95%CI: 0.30, 0.43) was 2.6 times higher than from low-enriched maize meals (0.14 mg; 0.11, 0.16; P<0.001), while it was not different from low-chitin cricket flour meals. Absorbed zinc from both cricket meals was higher than that from high-enriched meals. No severe adverse side events were reported. We conclude that edible house crickets are a good source of well-absorbable zinc, and their increased consumption could contribute to the alleviation of zinc deficiency. This trial was registered at the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry as PACTR202104533831364.

食用昆虫被提议作为一种新型可持续的人体食用蛋白质及其他必需营养素来源，但其营养吸收效率尚不确定。本研究于2021年9月至11月在肯尼亚开展一项单中心、单盲交叉试验，探究24~36月龄儿童对家蟋蟀（Acheta domesticus）中锌的吸收情况。研究将受试者随机分组，在相隔1个月洗脱期的两个不同日期，分别食用两种以锌稳定同位素标记的试验餐。主要终点为：以固有67Zn标记家蟋蟀强化的玉米基餐食（锌含量2.61mg，n=28），与以68Zn强化的餐食（含低强化组：锌含量0.90mg，n=29；高强化组：锌含量3.24mg，n=28），以及以固有67Zn标记低甲壳质蟋蟀粉强化的餐食（锌含量2.51mg，n=25）之间的吸收锌（AZ）量差异；次要终点为锌分数吸收率的差异。研究结果显示，全蟋蟀餐食的吸收锌量几何均值为0.36mg（95%置信区间：0.30~0.43），较低强化玉米餐食（0.14mg；95%CI：0.11~0.16；P<0.001）高出2.6倍，且与低甲壳质蟋蟀粉餐食无显著差异；两种蟋蟀餐食的吸收锌量均高于高强化餐食。本研究未报告严重不良事件。综上，可食用家蟋蟀是锌吸收性良好的优质来源，增加其摄入有助于缓解锌缺乏症。本试验已在泛非临床试验注册中心注册，注册号为PACTR202104533831364。