Medical value of cockroaches

become domestic pests, and the most important medically are Blatella germanica (the German cockroach), Blatta orientalis (the oriental cockroach), Periplaneta americana (the American cockroach

help to decay organic matter. Believed to spread disease, but contrary to popular opinion, they rarely if ever spread human disease. Natural control: Gecko lizards, scorpions, and beneficial nematodes.
Although most us think of cockroaches as vermin, they do have a useful ecological role. Cockroaches are professional recyclers, chowing down just about anything, including dead plants and animals, and animal waste.Their digestive systems are up to the task because they contain bacteria and protozoa that help convert the world's waste into easily-absorbed nutrients. In the wild, the waste of roaches nourishes growing plants, continuing the cycle.

cockroaches of the Diploptera punctata species. ... Dated lab analyses from 1997 show that cockroach milk is incredibly nutritious, providing plenty of carbs, fat, vitamins, minerals, protein, and all nine essential amino acids.

cockroaches have been used as insect models in the laboratory, particularly in the fields of neurobiology, reproductive physiology and social behavior.[31] The cockroach is a convenient insect to study as it is large and simple to raise in a laboratory environment. This makes it suitable both for research and for school and undergraduate biology studies. It can be used in experiments on topics such as learning, sexual pheromones, spatial orientation, aggression, activity rhythms and the biological clock, and behavioral ecology.[58] Research conducted in 2014 suggests that humans fear cockroaches the most, even more than mosquitoes, due to an evolutionary aversion.[59]

humans; these species are atypical of the thousands of species in the order.[60] They feed on human and pet food and can leave an offensive odor.[61] They can passively transport pathogenic microbes on their body surfaces, particularly in environments such as hospitals.[62][63] Cockroaches are linked with allergic reactions in humans.[64][65] One of the proteins that trigger allergic reactions is tropomyosin.[66] These allergens are also linked with asthma.[67] About 60% of asthma patients in Chicago are also sensitive to cockroach allergens. Studies similar to this have been done globally and all the results are similar. Cockroaches can live for from a few days to up to a month without food, so just because no cockroaches are visible in a home does not mean they are not there. Approximately 20–48% of homes with no visible sign of cockroaches have detectable cockroach allergens in dust.[68]

places around the world.[88][89] Whereas household pest cockroaches may carry bacteria and viruses, cockroaches bred under laboratory conditions can be used to prepare nutritious food.[90] In Mexico and Thailand, the heads and legs are removed, and the remainder may be boiled, sautéed, grilled, dried or diced.[88] In China, cockroaches have become popular as medicine and cockroach farming is rising with over 100 farms.[91] The cockroaches are fried twice in a wok of hot oil, which makes them crispy with soft innards that are like cottage cheese.[92][93] Fried cockroaches are ground and sold as pills for stomach, heart and liver diseases.[94] A cockroach recipe from Formosa (Taiwan) specifies salting and frying cockroaches after removing the head and entrails.[95]