Horseshoe crab and its medicinal values.

Abstract

The medicinal value of horseshoe crab blood comes from its ability to clot in the presence of bacteria, rendering the bacteria harmless. Even though bacteria are usually destroyed by modern sterilization techniques, some bacteria, called endotoxins, may survive the sterilization process. This blood-clotting ability of the horseshoe crab makes it very valuable in testing for injectable medicines, vaccines and sterile medical equipment. The horseshoe crab has also proved valuable to the medical field in another way. Studies involving the nerve pathways in the eyes of horseshoe crabs have led to many discoveries in human eye research. The outer shell of a horseshoe crab is made primarily of chitin. Scientists discovered that when used as a coating for suture material and burn dressings, chitin rapidly increased wound healing, cutting the time by half.