Toxicity of House Cricket (Acheta domesticus) in Mice

There is an urgent need to address the shortage of animal protein due to food shortages caused by the global population growth. Crickets contain an abundance of proteins in their exoskeleton and muscles and have attracted attention as a new protein source; however, their safety as a food source has not been confirmed. We evaluated the toxicity of the House cricket ( Acheta domesticus ), on cells and mammals. In genotoxicity in vitro , cricket powder was added to Chinese hamster lung CHL-IU cells at concentrations of 5,000 µg/mL, and the rate of chromosomal aberrations was assessed. In genotoxicity in vivo , mice were orally administered up to 2,000 mg/kg of cricket powder for 2 days. In both tests, cricket powder did not show any toxic effect. A repeated oral toxicity study was performed administering up to 3,000 mg/kg of cricket powder or control (saline) for 14 or 90 consecutive days and measuring body weight changes, blood biochemistry, blood properties, and organ weights. In each time course, there were no differences in there parameters between the control and cricket powder treated groups. These results suggest that House crickets (≤3,000 mg/kg) are not toxic to cells and organisms.