## 2 Materials and Methods
[23] ranged from 488.1 kcal/100 g to 524.1 kcal/100 g.  
### Antioxidant Characteristics  
The antioxidant activity of the tested samples varied from 1.93 to 2.64 mg TEAC/g (Table 5) and was positively affected by insect-powder addition, as the control sample had the lowest value. [PERSON] et al. [24] studied the antioxidant potential of insect extracts to inhibit DPPH. All extracts exhibited antioxidant activity: most of them showed 80% inhibitory activity. In general, it appeared that the extracts from cricket were more effective \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Parameter [mg per kg]** & **Control** & **MW Crackers** & **GS Crackers** & **CC Crackers** \\ \hline Copper & 1.51 \(\pm\) 0.01  & 1.66 \(\pm\) 0.03  & 2.19 \(\pm\) 0.04  & 2.13 \(\pm\) 0.01  \\ Manganese & 2.51 \(\pm\) 0.02  & 2.84 \(\pm\) 0.15  & 2.71 \(\pm\) 0.03  & 1.19 \(\pm\) 0.02  \\ Iron & 11.29 \(\pm\) 0.02  & 10.91 \(\pm\) 0.01  & 10.08 \(\pm\) 0.01  & 0.08 \(\pm\) 0.01  \\ Zinc & 11.62 \(\pm\) 0.08  & 12.71 \(\pm\) 0.04  & 13.15 \(\pm\) 0.07  & 10.31 \(\pm\) 0.08  \\ Cobalt & 0.18 \(\pm\) 0.01  & 0.12 \(\pm\) 0.01  & 0.12 \(\pm\) 0.01  \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Mineral compound composition in the analysed crackers. than those from mealworm, regardless of the extraction method and solvent used (average values around 72% and 57%, respectively). However, these differences were found to be insignificant. The antioxidant properties of muffins with insect powders were evaluated based on the determination of the total phenolic content and the ability to inhibit DPPH\(\bullet\) and ABTS\(\bullet\)+ in a study by [PERSON] et al. [25]. The lowest content of total phenols was determined in the control muffin (6.04 mg GAE/100 g) and the highest one in the muffins with mealworm and tropical house cricket (351.05 and 515.76 mg GAE/100 g, respectively). In general, the total phenolic content increased with a higher percentage of insect powder content in the muffins. Insects are generally rich in a wide variety of vitamins with antioxidant activity, including riboflavin, biotin and pantothenic acid. Grasshoppers, beetles, and crickets are especially rich in folic acid. Although other types of vitamins occur in relatively low amounts, it is believed that the content of vitamins in edible insects can be influenced and/or controlled by handling feed [26]. The total polyphenol content in the prepared samples varied from 0.49 to 0.78 mg GAE/g (Table 5) and was positively influenced by insect meal addition, as the control sample showed the lowest value. The total polyphenol content varies widely in processed foods. It depends on the time and extent of exposure to heat, pH, phytochemical structure, and the presence of oxygen. These processing conditions either increase the extraction or cause the degradation of phenolic compounds in foodstuffs. Polyphenols are compounds that elicit several pharmacological benefits: their properties include anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-allergenic, vasodilating, and anti-cancer activities. These properties are due to their antioxidant activity [27]. [PERSON] et al. [28] were the first to confirm the presence of phenolic substances in farmed crickets, indicating that crickets may be able to absorb or sequester phenolics from food. The following phenolic acids were found to be the major phenolic compounds present in cricket and its extracts: 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and syringe acid. Furthermore, cricket extracts obtained using microwave-assisted extraction showed higher in vitro antioxidant activity compared to the extracts from plant material used as feed. Crickets are also known to contain flavonoids--quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-rutioside, kaempferol-3-glucoside, diaizein, quercetin, naringenin and apigenin. [PERSON] et al.