Scientists from India, France, Japan, Canada and the US have published a paper detailing the identification of high-value protein crystals inside the Pacific beetle cockroach embryo.
This species, scientifically known as Diploptera punctata, is remarkable as it is the only cockroach known to birth their offspring alive, instead of laying eggs. This reproductive mechanism involves the embryos developing inside the female uterus, while still inside the egg.
These eggs, however, do not have sufficient nutrients to sustain the embryos. To compensate, the female secretes a nourishing liquid, which crystallizes inside the embryo.
The manufactured food material provides energy for embryos to grow quickly. According to the scientists, each of these crystals "corresponds to more than three times the energy provided by the equivalent masses of mammalian milks from several species."
Despite its high nutritional value, the exotic substance is not currently available for human consumption. The process of extracting the crystals from cockroach embryos is not efficient, based on the scale required to feed much larger animals, including humans. There is also a possible risk to humans of toxicity from the substance, requiring further study.
The nutritional material could, however, be considered an option for human sustenance, if the substance proves digestible, and a profitable method of mass production is invented. The current study did not address these aspects, as, according to one of the researchers, the research "was just born out of curiosity."
