[Applicability of multivariate statistics for nutritional studies: bioassay rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L)].

The principal component analysis (PCA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) are multivariate statistical techniques that graphically represent numerical measures of several factors and display multiple relationships that may exist between them. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of these techniques to analyze the nutritional quality of diet, using as model, the bioassay rice weevil. The diets tested were: corn starch, potato starch, 5% glucose, peas, starved and starved with water supply.