Recently, Asian hornets were spotted in the U.S for the time and we had discussed in our article about how powerful these creatures are. But do you know that we’ve already started making energy drink from this hornet? Well, not literally.
Vespa mandarinia japanoica (Asian Giant Hornet or Japanese Giant Hornet) is the world’s largest hornet species. These are one of the fastest hornets, whose wings flutter up to 1,000 times a minute and are strong enough to lift objects weighing more than six pounds even though worker hornets weigh only 0.09ounce(2.55 gram) on average. These giant hornets have enough stamina to fly about 60 miles a day with a speed of 25 miles per hour.
Dr. Takashi Abe, a scientist at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, was the person who studied and stepped into the research on Vespa mandarinia japanoica. Later he created an amino acid mixture named Vespa which is comparatively the same molecular content in the hornet saliva. His invention revealed that the intaking of the Vespa Amino Acid Mixture helps to burn the energy reserves in the human body.
In our human body, the main source of energy are glycogen and fat. But often, only the glycogen is burnt to give instant energy as it is easier to burn than the fat reserve. The storage of glycogen in a typical human body is 1800 calories only and it runs out quickly. On average, 132 pounded(59 kg) human body contains 27000 calories of energy reserves of fat which cannot be burnt that easily. This fat reserve only burns when the body starves and does heavy labor – The reason why you’re struggling with your tummy.
Dr.Takashi Abe introduced a drink VAAM, which is made of the Vespa Amino Acid Mixture, a synthetic substituent containing essential amino acids such as Alanine, Proline, and Glycine including 17 amino acids as they are contained in hornet saliva. VAAM enables the fat reserves to burn and make use of its energy, improving hydration in our body as well. He experimentally showed this by giving VAAM drink to mice and letting it swim. The mice supplemented with the drink swam faster and longer only by consuming water intermittently, which is 25 percent active than when it swam supplemented with casein(a protein) containing milk. In 1995, by this experiment, Dr. Takhashi Abe has proved in the Japanese Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine that this mixture burns fat and reduces fatigue. Then it was introduced to athletes and received more appreciation for its performance by preventing dehydration and maintaining energy levels prolonged by using the fat reserves thus preventing fatigue.
Many Japanese long-distance runners like Naoka Takhashi are devotees of this VAAM drink. She has won 6 marathons as subsequently and she attributes her records to the VAAM drinks. The athletes who added VAAM to their diet had undergone the doping tests and came out with a surprisingly negative result. No organizations or sports officials consider VAAM as a drug other than just an energetic or dietary supplement. But in some countries like the United States, they have prohibited all the L-tryptophan containing components after the outbreak of Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome(EMS) in 1989. VAAM is also included in the list as it contains a small amount of tryptophan.
As any major side effects haven’t been reported yet, it seems considerably safer to consume a drink made the hornet way. It is amusing to think about how many more tricks are we going to learn from nature.
-IndhiraKumar Balakrishnan
*This article is NOT a sponsored content
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