Researchers have found a way to reproduce cockroach milk, a fluid known for its highly nutritious properties.
When you come face to face with a cockroach, it is rare to have spontaneously in mind the idea of sucking its milk. And yet! Cockroach milk is the subject of intense scientific research. In question: the nutritive properties of this fluid, particularly rich in proteins.
Only one species of cockroach can produce milk: the diploptera punctata, unique viviparous representative among cockroaches. In fact, the insect does not lay eggs and feeds from the first days of its existence on this lactoid substance. Thanks to the nutritional contributions drawn from the secretion, it develops much faster than its cockroach cousins who have a more traditional diet.
How to milk a cockroach?
It was a young researcher from the University of Iowa, Nathan Coussens, who detected the presence of milk crystals in the abdomen of the diploptera punctata. But so far, no one really knew how to use this fluid – and especially, how to extract it from the insect, reluctant to be milked.
An international team of Canadian, American, French, Japanese and Indian researchers has just found an answer to this problem. In a study published in the journal International Union of Crystallography, scientists claim to have sequenced the genes responsible for the production of milk by the cockroach intestines. This substance could eventually be produced in the laboratory and in large quantities.
“Crystals are complete food. They contain proteins, fat, sugars. If you look at the protein sequences, they contain all of the essential amino acids. They are very stable. It could be a fantastic protein supplement, ”Sanchari Banerjee, one of the study’s authors, told The Times of India. In fact, cockroach milk has an energy value three times greater than that found in cow, goat or coconut milk.
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