Title: Nutritional and Gut Microbial Analyses of Adult Male Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) (Dictyoptera, Blattodea) from Three Locations in Abeokuta, Nigeria
Abstract: Cockroaches are cosmopolitan insects and are found in different parts of the house.There has been an increase call for their inclusion in the diet of both man and livestock.However, their nutritional value and gut microbial load based on different locations had received little attention in literature.This study aimed at investigating nutritive value and the microbial load in the gut of male cockroaches found in different locations (dumpsite, kitchen and toilet).Thirty (30) adult male cockroaches (Periplaneta americana), ten (10) from each location were used.The gut was taken out for microbial analysis and the other parts of the cockroaches were arranged for proximate composition, minerals and vitamins analysis using standard methods.Data analysis was done using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student Newman Kuel was used for mean separation of significant means.The gut microbial analysis from the three locations revealed that bacterial and fungal counts (2.00×105 cfu/ml, 9.00×105 cfu/ml respectively) in cockroaches from the dumpsite were significantly higher (p<0.05)than other sites.Cockroaches collected from the kitchen had highest Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations while cockroaches from the dumpsite had the least.Proximate composition showed that cockroaches from the kitchen had significantly higher (p <0.05) protein, ash, fat and carbohydrate content than other locations.This study showed that location affects the nutritional and microbial content of cockroaches.