Subacute Oral Toxicity Evaluation of Freeze-Dried Powder of Locusta migratoria

Novel food sources have enormous potential as nutritional supplements. For instance, edible insects are considered as an alternative food source due to their higher protein content; moreover, they are economically efficient reproducers and have high in nutritional value. In this study, we investigated the toxicity of the freeze-dried powder of Locusta migratoria (fdLM), known to contain rich proteins as well as fatty acids. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the subacute toxicity of fdLM in male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The SD rats were divided into four groups based on the dosage of fdLM administered: dosage of 0 (vehicle control), 750, 1,500, and 3,000 mg/kg/day were administered for 28 days. Toxicological assessments including observations on food consumption, body and organ weights, clinical signs, mortality, ophthalmologic tests, urinalyses, hematologic tests, clinical chemistry tests, gross findings, and histopathology tests were performed. Clinical signs, urinalyses, hematology, serum biochemistry tests, and organ weight examinations revealed no fdLM-related toxicity. The no-observed-adverse-effect level for fdLM was higher than 3,000 mg/kg/day in rats of both sexes; therefore, fdLM, in conclusion, can be considered safe as an edible alternative human and animal food source material.