| Part One: Changes in the organic compounds following sun drying of edible black ant (Polyrhachis vicina Roger)Edible black ant (Polyrhachis vicina Roger) is a traditional edible insect species in China. It has long been used as an important ingredient of health foods. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes of organic compounds following sun drying of edible black ant. The results showed that fresh and sun dried edible black ant samples have 28 organic components, respectively. Nine of them found in the present study have not been reported previously such as 8-heptadecene and (E,E)-6,10,14-trimethyl-5,9,13-pentadecatrien-2-one. Five constituents disappeared and 4 components formed while the ant was sun dried. The major organic compounds of fresh and sun dried edible black ant belong to the fatty acids and hydrocarbons. Some compounds such as fatty acids, aldehyde and alkanes appeared during the procedure indicating that sun drying speeds up lipid oxidation and hydrolytic rancidity.Part Two: Nutritional profile of edible black ant (Polyrhachis vicina Roger) dried by sun dryingThe aim of this study was to determine the nutritional composition of sun dried edible black ants, cultivated in Wenzhou city, Zhejiang and Guizhou Provinces, China. The protein content of Wenzhou and Guizhou sun dried edible black ants were 36.1% and 45.3%, lipid were 18.0% and 17.4%, and fiber were 29.1% and 28.9%, respectively. The 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 were predominant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in Wenzhou and Guizhou ants, they were 169.0 mg/100g and 63.0 mg/100g, and 276.8 mg/100g and 123.5 mg/100g, respectively. The 20:5n-3 were 17.6 mg/100g and 13.9 mg/100g, and 22:5n-3 were 6.8 mg/100g and 8.2 mg/100g in Wenzhou and Guizhou ants, respectively. Both ants were good sources of phosphorus, iron and calcium. Selenium concentrations were 2.9×10-2 mg/100g and 3.8×10-2 mg/100g for Wenzhou and Guizhou ants, respectively. Both sun dried edible black ants were rich in nutrients such as protein, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber, phosphorus, iron, calcium etc.Part Three: Lipids and fatty acid composition of dried edible red and black antsTotal lipid contents, lipid classes and fatty acid compositions were determined for hot-air dried edible black and red ants collected in China and Thailand. The major lipid components were triacylglycerol (TAG, 43.4%-79.4%), followed by phospholipids (6.1%-21.5%), diaacylglycerol (DAG, 6.1%-18.1%) and cholesterol ester (4.9%-13.5%) while free fatty acids (1.8%-2.9%), and sterol (0.5%-0.8%) were the minor components. The 18:1n-9 was the most predominant fatty acid found in the three species ants, 3407 mg/100g for Wenzhou black ant, 9098.8 mg/100g for Guizhou black ant and 3790.1 mg/100g for Thai red ant, respectively. Followed by 16:0, 922.9 mg/100g for Wenzhou black ant, 2523.3 mg/100g for Guizhou black ant and 1511.8 mg/100g for Thai red ant; 18:2n-6, 133.7 mg/100g for Wenzhou black ant, 305.2 mg/100g for Guizhou black ant and 506.4 mg/100g for Thai red ant; 18:3n-3, 35.1 mg/100g for Wenzhou black ant, 138.0 mg/100g for Guizhou black ant and 52.5 mg/100g for Thai red ant. The 20:5n-3 was 19.1, 15.0 and 20.0 mg/100g for Wenzhou and Guizhou black ants and Thai red ant, respectively. The 22:5n-3 was only found in black ants, 7.0 and 7.3 mg/100g for Wenzhou and Guizhou black ants, respectively. The edible black and red ants may be a good source of unsaturated fatty acid.Part Four: Anti-inflammatory activities of edible black ant oil (Polyrhachis vicina roger) extracted by supercritical CO2 fluid extractionThe edible black ant (Polyrhachis vicina Roger) has been used as a traditional medicine in China for treating inflammatory disorders. In the present study, edible black ant oil was extracted by supercritical CO2 extraction, which was rich in 18:1n-9, 18:3n-3, 18:2n-6, 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3. The effects of edible black ant oils by oral administration on experimental inflammation in male ICR mice and male SD rats (n=8) were studied. Results showed that black ant oil significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing response (14.3-88.9% inhibition at doses of 0.5-4.5 g/kg) and the increase in vascular permeability induced by acetic acid (33.3-42.7% inhibition at doses of 0.5-4.5 g/kg). Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) showed 92.1% and 60.4% inhibition in the same animal models, respectively. Edible black ant oil caused a significant inhibition of the cotton-pellet granuloma in rats and reducing production of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-αin both plasma and liver samples. These results indicated that the ant oil possess potent anti-inflammatory activities. |
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