Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
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Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19

Bastien Inzaurralde/AFP/Getty Images - detikHealth
Selasa, 05 Jul 2022 16:26 WIB

Amerika Serikat - Kepiting tapal kuda punya peran penting dalam proses pembuatan vaksin Covid-19. Kepiting itu memiliki darah biru yang bermanfaat untuk menguji vaksin tersebut.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Petugas memegang kepiting tapal kuda di Pickering Beach, Delaware, AS, Jumat, (17/6/2022). Hewan laut satu ini sangat penting untuk menguji keamanan produk biomedis sejak 1970-an. Kepiting ini menggantikan pengujian kelinci.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Kepiting tapal kuda atau Horseshoe Crab merupakan salah satu spesies kepiting purba yang diperkirakan sudah ada sejak 450 juta tahun lalu, lebih lama dari dinosaurus. Kalau di Indonesia, nama kepiting ini lebih dikenal sebagai belangkas atau mimi.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Sejak dulu jenis kepiting yang satu ini memang lebih populer darahnya, dibandingkan dagingnya. Darah biru kepiting tersebut telah digunakan dalam industri farmakologis selama hampir 50 tahun.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Warna biru dalam darah kepiting ini berasal dari kandungan tembaga dalam haemocyanin yang membawa oksigen ke dalam darah. Karenanya warna darahnya ini bukan kemerahan.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Menurut beberapa penelitian, darah tapal kuda ini mengandung zat pembekuan khusus yang disebut Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL). LAL memainkan peran penting dalam menentukan apakah vaksin atau alat medis baru aman dari kontaminasi bakteri. Karenanya darah biru dari kepiting ini menjadi kunci atau salah satu bahan utama dalam pembuatan vaksin Covid-19.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Namun karena jumlah kepiting tapal kuda yang tak banyak, darah biru ini menjadi langka. Kebanyakan kepiting tapal kuda harus mati karena darahnya dikuras selama proses pengambilan.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Setiap tahun, industri medis menangkap sekitar 600.000 kepiting tapal kuda. Kepiting terkuras 30 persen darahnya dan setidaknya 30 persen kepiting akan mati ketika darahnya dikuras. Dilansir dari Nation of Change, sekitar 50 ribu kepiting mati saat proses tersebut.

Glenn Gauvry, president of the Ecological Research & Development Group, a nonprofit advocating for the conservation of horseshoe crabs, holds a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along the Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs. If you've ever had a vaccine in your life, you have these weird sea animals to thank: their bright blue blood, which clots in the presence of harmful bacterial components called endotoxins, has been essential for testing the safety of biomedical products since the 1970s, when it replaced rabbit testing. (Photo by Bastien INZAURRALDE / AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images)

Kepiting tapal kuda ini terdaftar sebagai kategori rentan di Amerika Serikat karena habitatnya hilang. Hal tersebut dikarenakan pemanfaatan berlebihan untuk makanan dan medis yang berkembang terlebih karena pandemi Covid-19.

Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
Ini Kepiting Tapal Kuda, Hewan Unik Penguji Vaksin Covid-19
kepiting tapal kuda kepiting darah biru belangkas vaksin covid-19 fotodetikcom
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