敢来尝一尝么? 研究称蟑螂奶未来或成超级食物

A little cockroach milk with those cookies? Chock full of protein, the insect milk may someday be transformed into a food supplement worthy of human consumption, new research indicates.

一点儿蟑螂奶配上小点心？最新研究显示，蟑螂这种昆虫的奶富含蛋白质，它有一天会成为人类消费的超级食物。

Scientists have found that the Pacific Beetle Cockroach feeds its bug babies a formula which is remarkably rich in protein, fat and sugar. Don't expect to find it next to the regular milk in the dairy section, however, at least not for now.

科学家们已经发现，太平洋甲虫蟑螂喂给幼虫吃的奶里富含蛋白质、脂肪和糖。不过，不要指望马上在你每天的餐桌上喝上它，至少现在还不行。

"Any liquid harvested from a cockroach is not true milk. At least not as we think of it," said Becky Facer, director of school and educator programs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta.

亚特兰大弗恩班克自然历史博物馆的学校教育项目负责人贝琪·费瑟表示：“这种蟑螂产出的液体其实并不算真正的'奶'，至少跟我们想象中的奶是不一样的。”

Most people would agree. After all, the insect liquid takes the form of protein crystals in the guts of baby cockroaches.

大多数人都同意这一观点。毕竟，这种昆虫奶是以蛋白质晶体的形式存在于蟑螂的内脏里的。

"The protein crystals are milk for the cockroach infant. It is important for its growth and development," said Leonard Chavas, one of the scientists behind the research. He explained the crystals have a whopping three times the energy of an equivalent mass of buffalo milk, about four times the equivalent of cow's milk.

进行这项研究的科学家雷纳德·哈瓦斯表示：“这种蛋白质晶体对于蟑螂幼虫来说就相当于乳汁。它对幼虫的生长发育非常重要。”他解释说，这类蛋白质晶体富含能量，是同等质量野牛牛奶的3倍，普通牛奶的4倍。

Chavas and his colleagues examined the species, also known as Diploptera punctate, which is the only species of cockroach known to be viviparous -- able to bring forth live babies that have developed within the mother's body, instead of the mother laying eggs to develop outside her body.

哈瓦斯和他的同事们研究了这种又被称为太平洋折翅蠊的蟑螂，它是所有蟑螂种类中唯一的胎生昆虫--也就是说它们的繁殖不用排卵，而是直接在身体里哺养后代。

Like other viviparous creatures, this species of roach nourishes its growing embryos with a protein-rich liquid secreted by its brood sac -- the roach version of a uterus. Soon after the embryo ingests the liquid, protein crystals develop within its midgut.

和其他胎生动物一样，太平洋折翅蠊也有类似于子宫的育囊，通过育囊分泌富含蛋白质的液体来哺育胚胎。胚胎吞下蛋白质营养液体后，很快将其输送到幼虫的肠道。

Chavas and his colleagues extracted one of these crystals to learn more about it and its potential nutrition. Following tests and even genome sequencing, they discovered it was a complete food.

为了对其营养成分做更多深入的了解，哈瓦斯和他的同事从蟑螂幼虫肠道中提取了一种蛋白质晶体，进行了一系列的测验，甚至启用了基因序列分析，最终发现这种晶体完全可以作为一种食物。

"It is what one would need: protein, essential amino acids, lipids and sugars," Chavas said, explaining that the energy content is so high that it helps infants within this unique species grow much bigger than cockroach babies of other species.

哈瓦斯表示：“它正是我们所需要的，包括蛋白质、人体必需的氨基酸、脂肪和糖分。”他解释称，营养成分如此之高，怪不得这种蟑螂幼虫发育得要比其他种类的蟑螂幼虫体型大得多。

So, how do you milk a cockroach?

那么，你该怎么喝这种蟑螂奶呢？

The crystals are currently extracted from the midgut of cockroach embryos -- perhaps not the most efficient way of feeding a growing world population.

现在，这种蛋白质晶体是直接从蟑螂幼虫的肠道提取的。很显然，这种生产方式在效率上太低了。

Ultimately, however, Chavas and his team are hoping to reverse bioengineer cockroach milk, but first they need to understand the exact biological and chemical mechanisms underlying the process.

不过，哈瓦斯和他的团队希望最终通过基因工程来生产蟑螂奶。但是在这之前，他们先要弄清楚蟑螂奶生产背后的生物和化学机理。