Investigating purine and uric acid contents of various development stages of artificially reared edible insects

Abstract

Nutritional interventions play a vital role in treating gout, and knowledge of the purine content in foods is essential. Because edible insects have been proposed as mini-livestock alternatives, this study aimed to analyse the content of purines (adenine, guanine, xanthine, and hypoxanthine) and their metabolite (uric acid) in two different developmental stages of six insects (Tenebrio molitor, Alphitobius diaperinus, Gryllus assimilis, Acheta domesticus, Locusta migratoria, and Blaberus discoidalis) and meats (chicken, pork, beef, and salmon). Compared to meat, edible insects contained equivalent or higher amounts of total purine (3.23-13.22 g/kg edible insect dry matter vs 3.61-5.53 g/kg meat dry matter) and uricogenic purines adenine + hypoxanthine (1.55-8.86 g/kg edible insect dry matter vs 2.97- 4.91 g/kg meat dry matter). Although the uric acid content was significantly affected by the developmental stage and species, the total purine content did not vary within the stages. In conclusion, the tested insects are unsuitable for a low-purine diet.