Medical Uses
Horseshoe crabs are valuable as a species to the medical research community, and in medical testing. The above-mentioned clotting reaction of the animal's blood is used in the widely used Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test to detect bacterial endotoxins in pharmaceuticals and to test for several bacterial diseases.
Enzymes from horseshoe crab blood are used by astronauts in the International Space Station to test surfaces for unwanted bacteria and fungi.
A protein from horseshoe crab blood is also under investigation as a novel antibiotic.
LAL is obtained from the animals' blood. Horseshoe crabs are returned to the ocean after bleeding, although some 3% die during the process. Studies show that blood volume returns to normal in about a week, though blood cell count can take two to three months to fully rebound.
Read more about this topic: Atlantic Horseshoe Crab
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