Huhu grubs have long been prized as a traditional food source and their nutritional value has just been analysed.

The study of the mineral and macronutrient composition of huhu grubs (Prionoplus reticularis larvae) was undertaken by Food Science PhD student Ruchita Rao Kavle and the results have recently been published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology.

Miss Rao Kavle says the analysis found huhu grubs had a high fat content — for which they have traditionally been known — but it was the high levels of protein that really stood out.

«Across the four development stages of the huhu, protein ranged from 26.2 per cent to 30.5 per cent, which is high when compared to other common protein sources such as beef (21 per cent), lamb (20.3 per cent), chicken (17.4 per cent), soy (13 per cent), and chickpeas (20.5 per cent).

«We also found that the grubs were rich in essential minerals which all play vital roles in human health and nutrition, the most abundant been manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper, and zinc,» she says.

The analysis was undertaken on wild huhu grubs during four different development stages of their life cycle, and which were harvested from a pine-forested site in Dunedin.

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