Biological Value of Rangeland Grasshoppers as a Protein Concentrate12

Grasshoppers collected on rangelands in the Rolling Plains of Texas were analyzed for crude protein, gross energy, phosphorus, calcium, ash, and amino acids. Dried grasshopper meal contained over 70% crude protein, over 5000 calories per gram gross energy and was higher in essential amino acids than the F.A.O. pattern except for methionine. Grasshopper meal proved unsatisfactory for rapid growth of weanling rats in a 10-day feeding trial, as a result of insufficient methionine content, or low digestibility of protein in grasshopper meal. The actual protein content of grasshopper meal may be somewhat less than was determined in this study by a macro-Kjeldahl procedure due to the presence of non protein nitrogen.