Horseshoe crab blood is one of the most precious liquids in the world with an incredible price tag of up to $60000 per gallon. But what makes this strange blue blood so valuable?
An Ancient Species with Unique Blood
Horseshoe crabs are ancient creatures that have survived largely unchanged for over 450 million years. Their blood contains the copper-based pigment hemocyanin, giving it a distinctive blue coloration unlike any other animal
The blood also harbors special cells called amebocytes. These amebocytes have highly sensitive receptors that can detect even minute amounts of bacterial toxins. This primitive immune system protects horseshoe crabs from pathogens.
Discovery of LAL – The Miracle Extract
In the 1950s scientists made a remarkable discovery – horseshoe crab blood would clot and gel rapidly when exposed to bacteria. Researchers realized they could use this reaction to test for contamination in pharmaceuticals.
By the 1970s, scientist Dr. Fred Bang isolated the clotting compounds from the crab’s blood and created Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL). Just a drop of LAL would coagulate in the presence of bacterial endotoxins.
This provided an alternative to testing on rabbits. LAL gave instant results, revolutionizing quality control for drugs and medical equipment. Today, every FDA-approved injectable medicine must pass an LAL test for safety.
Synthetic Alternatives Don’t Cut It
Given the limited horseshoe crab population and sustainability concerns, why hasn’t LAL been replaced by a synthetic alternative after all these years?
It turns out the complex enzy
(Or why a living fossil may save your life)
According to the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) of Delaware, whose primary focus is the conservation of the worldâs four remaining horseshoe crab species, Â âan extract of the horseshoe crabs blood is used by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to ensure that their products (e.g., intravenous drugs, vaccines, and medical devices) are free of bacterial contamination. No other test works as easily or reliably for this purpose.â
Horseshoe crabs aren’t bugs. They arent really crabs, either.
The prehistoric-looking creatures known properly as Limulus polyphemus are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than true crabs. The innocuous sea creatures are living fossils and have been scuttling about quietly pretty much unchanged for some 250 million years.
So who cares? As a primate who can think, you should. The primitive immune system of the horseshoe crab makes them medically quite useful to humans. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using the horseshoe crab derivative known as Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL).
The LAL extract made from horseshoe crab blood (which is bright blue, by the way), is used to test drugs and vaccine for possible bacterial contamination.
Horseshoe crab blood is worth an estimated $15,000 a quart, according to the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Programs/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site (www.ocean.udel.edu). Researchers have also found substances in the crabs that have potential as antibiotics as well as anti-viral and anti-cancer agents. Try to put a price on that untapped potential.
Whenever you get a vaccine, the crab’s life is linked to yours as a benefit from medical testing. That’s very good, because bad bacteria can be lethal. Gram-negative bacteria can be nasty stuff that cause life-threatening diseases like meningitis, typhoid, cholera, and toxic shock syndrome.
Escherichia coli is benign in its proper environment; taken out of those rich corridors of gut and bowel, e.coli can cause serious illness.
Marine scientist William Sargent wrote a very readable book, Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism and Human Health. One horseshoe crab can be bled, returned to the ocean, and after time, can give blood again. Or so it’s supposed to go.
Tapping the horseshoe crab market has spawned a multi-million dollar biomedical business.
Researchers are exploring the potential to culture cells that produce LAL. This development could potentially eliminate the need to catch the horseshoe crabs by the biomedical industry.
Keeping an eye on the health of populations are members of the Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a commission created in 1942 in recognition that “fish do not adhere to political boundaries.”
The ASMFC is composed of 15 Atlantic coast states: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the taking of horseshoe crabs by unlicensed persons is prohibited. “Only holders of the Connecticut Commercial Fishing License and Commercial Finfish License are permitted to take horseshoe crabs.”
In 2003 Congress allocated $630,000 for horseshoe crab research funding to Virginia Techs Horseshoe Crab Research Center (HCRC) in Blacksburg, Virginia. Virginia Techs HCRC is the largest horseshoe crab research institution in the country.
India and China are working on cloning toxin-detecting genes in horseshoe crab blood so that LAL derivatives could be made without the harvest of horseshoe crabs. United States biomedical companies include Associates of Cape Cod, www.acciusa.com; Cambrex, www.cambrex.com/default.asp; and Charles River Endosafe, www.criver.com.
Why Horseshoe Crab Blood Is So Expensive | So Expensive
FAQ
Is horseshoe crab blood $60,000 per gallon?
Horseshoe blood is so valuable that it costs $60,000 a gallon. Horseshoe blood is extracted by inserting a needle into the heart and draining about a third of its blood. The crabs are then released back to the ocean, but many crabs die, and some females do not reproduce again.
What is the most expensive animal blood?
On account of the presence of this important chemical compound, horseshoe crab blood became one of the most expensive liquids on earth. According to Business Insider, the price of the blood is valued at $60,000 per gallon, and the demand is growing. However, this has led to the overexploitation of the species.
Why is horseshoe crab illegal in the US?
The importance of horseshoe crabs to our ecosystem and the growing threat to the survival of the species had led other states, including Delaware, Connecticut, and New Jersey, to implement policies banning the taking of horseshoe crabs.
How much does a crab blood cost?
As per reports, these crabs are extremely valuable; their blood is also called blue gold. Horseshoe crabs have shells and a tail in their body. According to reports, the price of 1 litre of blood is 15 thousand dollars, that is around Rs 12 lakh.
How much is a quart of horseshoe crab blood worth?
One quart of horseshoe crab blood can sell for $15,000 to $60,000, depending on demand. The global market for LAL endotoxin testing, which relies on horseshoe crab blood, is estimated at $50 million annually and growing. Each adult female horseshoe crab contains up to $600 worth of LAL blood value.
Are horseshoe crabs worth a gallon?
The industry of breeding horseshoe crabs, on the other hand, is growing, according to The Verge. The blue blood of horseshoe crabs is so precious that a gallon is worth $60,000.
What is horseshoe crab blood?
In horseshoe crabs, these amebocytes contain a special protein called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), which has significant coagulative effects and is particularly useful in medical applications. The medical significance of horseshoe crab blood lies in its unique biological properties, primarily due to LAL.
Is horseshoe crab blood sustainable?
The process of harvesting horseshoe crab blood, often involving the collection and bleeding of live crabs, has raised concerns about its sustainability. While crabs are typically returned to the ocean after bleeding, the process can be harmful and sometimes lethal.
How are horseshoe crabs bled?
Horseshoe crabs are caught by fishermen either as bait for conch and eel harvesting, or specifically for the biomedical industry to be bled for LAL manufacturing. The crabs are transported to lab facilities where around 30% of their blood is drained from the heart region. The bleeding process typically takes about 10 minutes.
Why is horseshoe crab blood blue?
While hemoglobin gives human blood its red color, hemocyanin is responsible for the blue color of horseshoe crab blood. Additionally, vertebrates like humans carry white blood cells in their bloodstreams, whereas invertebrates like horseshoe crabs have amebocytes.