American Pie: Alligator Blood - Good For What Ails You?
…It’s hard to find anything nice to say about ‘gators. Many people would say the only good one is a dead one. Apart from their skins, they aren’t good for much. And don’t let anyone tell you that ‘gator tastes like chicken – it don’t. A closer comparison would be chewing a pencil eraser, and just about as tasteless….
But what about alligator blood? Could it be a great cure-all?
John Merchant brings surprising news from alligator heaven – Florida.
Southern Florida has its fair share of critters – Raccoons, Opossum, Deer, Wild Turkey, Bear and Rabbits, to name just the more visible species. Less intrusive, unless you startle one, are the snakes. Geckos, the critters that even people who suffer with herpetophobia have to like, are everywhere. Unseen, though very much present, are the Florida Panthers, and their Texas cousins that were introduced to strengthen the Florida breed. Dominating this ecology are the very visible, unloved and unwanted, ubiquitous Alligators.
It’s hard to find anything nice to say about ‘gators. Many people would say the only good one is a dead one. Apart from their skins, they aren’t good for much. And don’t let anyone tell you that ‘gator tastes like chicken – it don’t. A closer comparison would be chewing a pencil eraser, and just about as tasteless. Nature did a wonderful job in designing the Alligator to survive the millennia. Since nobody wants to eat it, and it will eat anything including its kin, and has no enemies other than man, the design has needed little modification over time.
Florida’s topography is about as close to a pancake as landmasses get, and the water table is normally just below the surface, so ponds, lakes and drainage canals are plentiful. This is ‘gator heaven - plenty of fresh water to lounge in through the heat of the day, and meals delivered to the door from the parade of birds, cats, dogs and people lingering on the banks. Florida also is home to untold numbers of golf courses, all with ponds and lakes, and therefore, it follows, resident Alligators, so it’s wise not to take too long over your putt.
Also plentiful in Florida are swimming pools, private and public. Given that Alligators don’t have the most discriminating palates, chlorinated water bothers them not one bit. A ‘gator in a bayou or a distant pond may be tolerable, but in your backyard, just feet from your barbeque, is another matter. The frequency with which Alligators have taken up residence in swimming pools is high enough that it has spawned a group of removal specialists who, for reasons known only to themselves, keep a low profile. My telephone book failed to reveal even one, though I know they’re out there.
But the negative PR that Alligators are accustomed to may be taking a turn for the better. Despite their reputation, they could be heading toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, researchers at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge report. Biochemist Mark Merchant (no relation) and colleagues who cooperated on a study, found that proteins in ‘gator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics to help fight infections associated with diabetic ulcers, severe burns, and "super bugs" that are resistant to conventional medication. Having experienced an antibiotic resistant infection last year, this would get my vote.
The Louisiana State University study, described as the first to explore the antimicrobial properties of Alligator blood in detail, found a range of other promising uses for the critter’s antibiotic proteins. Among them: combating yeast infections that are a serious problem in AIDS patients and transplant recipients who have weakened immune systems. "We're very excited about the potential of these blood proteins as both antibacterial and antifungal agents," says Mark. "There's a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day."
I don’t know how much blood these creatures have in their body, but an average American Alligator's weight and length is 800 lbs (360 kg) and 13 feet (4 m) long. According to the Everglades National Park website, the largest alligator ever recorded in Florida was 17 feet 5 inches long (5.3 m). The largest alligator ever recorded in Alabama measured 12 feet 8 inches (3.7 m), and the largest one recorded anywhere in the US measured 19 feet 2 inches (5.8 m) and was found on Marsh Island, Louisiana. The larger ones could have exceeded an estimated ton in weight, but for some reason that I can’t fathom, few of these giant specimens were weighed.
A call for volunteers to extract the blood, so far hasn’t yielded much of a response, but a steady diet of red meat and ground up Vallium pretty soon should have these reptiles lining up to donate with smiles on their faces – just jokin’ y’all.
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