EFFECTS OF VITELLARIA PARADOXA LEAF DIETS ON GROWTH AND NUTRITIONAL CONTENTS OF CIRINA FORDA (LEPIDOPTERA: SATURNIIDAE)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current challenge of food security has called for exploitation of natural product, with potential nutritional and therapeutic characteristic, especially from less tapped agent. Cirina forda belongs to the Order Lepidoptera, family satuniidae, it’s an insect that has been well described with good source of protein, fat, minerals and vitamins. Their non existence in the places of natural occurrence remained a reason of concerned to the populace that enjoys them in their dishes. This growth response study was designed to determine and evaluate the effects of different Vitellaria paradoxa leaves diet on laboratory reared C. forda. The study was carried out in Animal Biology Laboratory, Federal University of Technology Minna, Matured eggs of C. forda were collected from host plant where they naturally occur in lanle village, Bida, Niger State. The host plant leaves were collected for feeding the control group of the study which was tag as group A, Another set of four different host plants from different locations in Minna metropolis were collected and tagged as group B, C, D, and E for the laboratory rearing. The collected leaves were used to rear the larval stage of C. forda under standard laboratory condition. Morphometric characteristic, nutritional composition as well as biochemical characteristics of the reared C. forda was determined and recorded. Head capsule width range= (5.07-8.40 mm), Body length range= (36.99-64.50 mm), Body width range= (5.23-11.88 mm). All the leaves of the V. paradoxa shows high amount of phenol, saponnin and flavonoid. Protein content was highest in C. forda group A, (23.39 mg/100g), and the least in group D (16.66 mg/100g) carbohydrate was highest in Cirina forda group C (66.60 mg/100g) and the lowest in group A (58.71 mg/100g). Fat content was highest in group A (5.46 mg/100g) and lowest in group D (3.63 mg/100g). Vitamin composition was dominated by vitamin C. Vitamin C was higher in group D (56.11 mg/100g) and the lowest in group E (71.23 mg/100g) follow by vitamin A which was highest in group D (17.91 mg/100g) and lowest in group C (13.68 mg/100g). Mineral composition was dominated by sodium (Na) potassium (K) magnesium (Mg) and copper (Cu). Group E recorded highest Mg content (138.07 mg/100g) while group D (117.00 mg/100g) recorded the lowest. Copper was also highest in E (7.30 mg/100g) while the lowest in group C (5.92 mg/100g). Finding from this study thus indicated that the life cycle of C. forda strictly depended on the leave diet of V. paradoxa. The insect Cirina forda survived best in the naturally host plant Vitellaria paradoxa