Postharvest processes of edible insects in Africa: A review of processing methods, and the implications for nutrition, safety and new products development
Publication Type
Journal Article
Journal Name
Biocontrol Science and Technology
Publication Date
1-1-1993
Abstract
Research on the predation of ticks by chickens is required to establish the potential role of chickens as biological control agents for ticks. In the present study, 26 local chickens were allowed to feed in groups of two or three for 1 hour on a meal containing adult unengorged Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Amblyomma variegatum and slaughtered thereafter at different intervals ranging from 11 min to 24 h. The contents of the digestive tracts of the chickens were carefully examined under a dissecting microscope to determine the state of digestion of the ingested ticks. All ticks found in the crop were not digested and a few A. variegatum were attached to the crop wall and were found dead. The gizzard contained partially and completely digested ticks while tick remnants were predominant in the small intestine. It was concluded that most of the digestion of tick proteins takes place in the small intestine. It was also concluded that, although the digestion rate of ticks varies in individual chickens, all ticks digested in a meal should have been completely digested and absorption of the tick nutrients should have started within 21–24 h although this could have been accomplished as early as 9 h by chickens with fast digestion rates. © 1993, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
Keywords
biological control, chickens, digestion, predation, ticks
Recommended Citation
Hassan, S., & Dipeolu, O. (1993). Postharvest processes of edible insects in Africa: A review of processing methods, and the implications for nutrition, safety and new products development. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 3 (1), 79-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583159309355262