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Crab Shell: Composition, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Properties, and Applications
Crab shells are the exoskeletons of crabs, mainly composed of chitin (also known as 甲壳素), proteins, minerals (such as calcium, phosphorus, etc.), as well as small amounts of lipids and pigments.
In TCM, crab shells refer to the carapaces ofEriocheir sinensisandEriocheir japonica(both belonging to the family Varunidae). They are characterized by a salty taste, cold nature, and are associated with the Liver and Spleen meridians. Note that crab shells are toxic. Their TCM effects include dissipating blood stasis to stop bleeding, and detoxifying to reduce swelling.
Feed Industry
Poultry Feed: Crab shell granules can replace a small amount of fish meal in chicken feed to enhance feed flavor. The astaxanthin they contain has a coloring effect on the feed for broilers, laying hens, and laying ducks. However, the dosage should not be too high to avoid disrupting the balance of amino acids and minerals.
Swine Feed: Adding 5% crab meal to the feed of growing-finishing pigs yields good results, as it can replace meat and bone meal, meat meal, etc. Nevertheless, due to the high ash content and chitin, low fat, and low energy of crab shell granules, attention should be paid to supplementing energy and maintaining the balance of calcium and phosphorus.
Aquafeed: Crab shell granules can serve as attractants in fish and shrimp feed. Generally, the dosage in fish feed should be below 5%.
Ruminant Feed: Studies have shown that the chitin solubility of crab shell powder is better than that of lobster shell powder, and its effective protein degradation rate reaches a medium level. It can replace 5-10% of protein in ruminant feed, but further optimization of pretreatment processes is required to improve the degradation efficiency of slowly degradable protein components.
Pet Feed: After processing such as grinding, crab shell granules can be added to pet food. This not only improves the nutritional value and palatability of pet food but also helps enhance pets' immunity and reduce the risk of bacterial infection.
Organic Fertilizer
Crab shell granules contain calcium and other minerals, which can be processed into organic fertilizer. This fertilizer can increase soil fertility and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers.
Pharmaceutical Field
In the pharmaceutical field, crab shells can be used to treat conditions such as stagnant blood with jaundice, blood stasis-induced metrorrhagia, carbuncles and sores (toxic swellings), noma (gangrenous stomatitis), and venomous insect stings.
