CHEMICAL COMPOSITON OF MUSHROOM GLANDS OF ADULT
MALE COCKROACHES (PERIPLANETA AMERICANA) FROM
DIFFERENT MICROHABITATS IN ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA
Ademolu, K.o.1*, JodA, A.o.2, olAdele, o.S.1 and Idowu, A.B.1
1)department of Pure and Applied Zoology, Federal university of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, Nigeria 
2) department of Crop production, olabisi onabanjo university, Ayetooro
Campus, ogun State.
Corresponding author’s email: kennyademolu@yahoo.com
Abstract – mushroom gland is an accessory gland of male cockroaches responsible
for sperm enrichment. Its content is affected by sex, age, diet, habitats and others.
However, the influence of microhabitats inhabited by cockroaches on the mushroom
gland properties had not received much research attention. The goal of this study is to
investigate the chemical composition of the mushroom gland of male cockroaches from
different locations in Abeokuta. Twenty (20) adult male cockroaches each were
collected from four different locations (grocery store, toilet, kitchen, dump site) where
they are commonly found in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The mushroom glands of cockroaches
were dissected and analyzed for organic (total protein, glucose, cholesterol and
triglycerides) and inorganic (Na+, K+, mg2+, Ca2+) contents through standard methods.
data collected were analyzed by one-way Analysis of Variance and significant means
were separated by Student-Newman-Kuel (SNK) test. mushroom gland of cockroaches
from the kitchen had significantly higher glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides (5.63,
40.4 and 87.4 mg/dl respectively) than other locations. Similarly, inorganic contents
of mushroom gland of cockroaches from kitchen had higher Ca2+ and mg2+
concentrations than those of other locations. Triglycerides and Na +  had the highest
concentrations in the mushroom gland. In conclusion, kitchen environment provides
its cockroaches the nutrients for better reproductive potential than other locations. 
Key wordS: cockroaches, mushroom gland, metabolites, microhabitats
Izvleček – KemIČNA SeSTAVA GoBASTIH ŽleZ odrASlIH SAmCeV
ŠČurKoV VrSTe PERIPLANETA AMERICANA IZ rAZlIČNIH
mIKroHABITAToV V ABeoKuTI, NIGerIJA
65
ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA SLOVENICA
LJUBLJANA, JUNIJ 2022                    Vol. 30, øt. 1: 65–70
Gobasta žleza je pomožna žleza samcev ščurkov, odgovorna za obogatitev sperme.
Na njeno vsebino vplivajo spol, starost, prehrana, okolje in drugo. Vendar vpliv
mikrohabitatov, ki jih ščurki poseljujejo, na lastnosti gobastih žlez ni bil deležen dovolj
raziskovalne pozornosti. Cilj naše raziskave je bil ugotoviti kemično sestavo gobastih
žlez samcev ščurkov iz različnih krajev v Abeokuti. Po dvajset odraslih samcev je bilo
zbranih na štirih različnih krajih (trgovina z živili, stranišče, kuhinja, smetišče), kjer
jih lahko redno najdemo v Abeokuti, Nigerija. Gobaste žleze ščurkov smo izrezali in
v njih analizirali organske (skupne beljakovine, glukoza, holesterol in trigliceridi) in
anorganske (Na+, K+, mg2+, Ca2+) sestavine s standardnimi metodami. Zbrane podatke
smo analizirali z enosmerno analizo variance in značilne vrednosti določili s Student-
Newman-Kuel (SNK) testom. Gobasta žleza ščurkov iz kuhinje je imela značilno višje
vsebnosti glukoze, holesterola in trigliceridov  (5,63, 40,4 in 87,4 mg/dl) kot z drugih
lokacij. Podobno je imela vsebnost anorganskih snovi v žlezah ščurkov iz kuhinje višje
koncentracije Ca2+ and mg2+ kot tiste z drugih lokacij. Trigliceridi in Na +  so imeli v
gobastih žlezah najvišje koncentracije. Sklepamo, da kuhinjsko okolje ščurkom
zagotavlja hranila za boljši reproduktivni potencial kot drugi kraji.
KlJuČNe BeSede: ščurki, gobasta žleza, metaboliti, mikrohabitati
Introduction
There are about 3,500 species of cockroaches found on every continent, except
Antarctica, they are among the most primitive and successful pterygote insects.
Among the most common species, the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana
happens to be the largest in size with an average length of 4 cm (oyebanji et al., 2014).
Adults are reddish-brown in appearance with a pale-brown or yellow band around the
edge of the pronotum (oyebanji et al., 2014). They are found majorly in basements,
sewers, steam tunnels and drainage systems (rust et al., 1991) and they feed on almost
anything they come across, including papers, boots, hair, bread, fish, fruit, dead
insects, cloth etc., thereby causing economic loss (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
Cockroaches are found in groups and in warm and dark places and are common in
toilets, bathrooms, kitchens, dining and bedrooms. The American cockroach
(Periplaneta americana) is the largest species which is capable of surviving up to two
years, much longer than any other cockroach species (Brenner 1995). most of the
roaches’ activities like feeding, mating and locomotion are performed and peaked at
night (Iyeh et al., 2021).
mushroom-shaped gland or utricular is a large accessory reproductive gland,
whitish in colour and situated at the junction of vasa deferentia with the ejaculatory
duct. It has a mass of glandular tubules of three kinds: the peripheral long tubules or
utriculi majores, the central tubules or utriculi breviores and the seminal vesicles filled
with sperms (Bell et al., 2007). mushroom gland is present  in the 6th and 7th
abdominal segments of a male cockroach. It acts as an accessory reproductive gland.
Its functions include forming a protective layer of the spermatophore and nourishing
the sperms.
Acta entomologica slovenica, 30 (1), 2022
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In Asia and other continents, cockroaches are considered as feed source for
livestock due to high nutritive value and ability to culture easily. Ademolu et al. (2020)
reported a significant difference in the protein and mineral contents of cockroaches
from different microhabitats, suggesting that locations where they live and breed
influence their nutritive value. Hence, we hypothesized that microhabitats can
influence the reproductive capability of its cockroaches inhabitants. As the first step
towards testing this hypothesis, the goal of this study is to determine the chemical
composition of the accessory mushroom gland of adult male cockroaches from
different microhabitats.
Materials and methods
Sample Collection
Adult male cockroaches were captured (at night time) from four different
microhabitats (kitchens, toilets, grocery stores and dumpsites) at Camp Area of
Abeokuta by hand picking method using sterile gloves and transferred to perforated
plastic containers. 
Preparation of Sample
The collected samples were taken to the laboratory few hours after collection for
further processes. on the arrival of the cockroaches at the laboratory, twenty (20)
male cockroaches from each location were put into an envelope and kept in the freezer
for 10 minutes to make them immobile. The immobile cockroaches were dissected to
extract their mushroom glands according to methods described by oyebanji et al
(2014) and the glands were later processed for chemical analysis.
Mineral composition analysis
The mushroom gland samples were carefully extracted from the dissected
cokroaches and 0.5g of the gland was homogenised in 5mls of distilled water and the
homogenate was used for the mineral analysis. Five µl of the homogenate were wet
digested with concentrated nitric and percholoric acids. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium
(mg) contents were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (model
3030 Perkin elmer, Nortwalk, uSA). Potassium (K) and Sodium (Na) were
determined with the aid of Corning 400 Flame Photometer according to the methods
of A.o.A,C,(1990). 
Determination of Total protein, Cholesterol and Glucose
The protein concentration of each sample was determined using Biuret method as
described by Henry et al. (1974). The glucose content was determined by the
Colorimetric method of Baumniger (1974). The lipids assay was done following the
protocols of Grant et al. (1987). All the analyses were done in triplicates (three
different samples were taken from each microhabitat).
data from the experiments were analyzed by one-way Analysis of Variance and
tested for significance by Student-Newman –Kuel (SNK) test.
Ademolu, K. O., Joda, A. O., Oladele, O. S., Idowu, A. B.: Chemical compositon of mushroom glands of adult male cockroaches
67
Results
The mushroom glands of adult male cockroaches from different microhabitats are
rich in organic substances. The results showed the presence of glucose, protein,
cholesterol and triglycerides in the mushroom glands, though occurring at different
concentrations. mushroom gland of cockroaches collected from the kitchen had
significantly higher glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides than those from other
microhabitats. Conversely, mushroom glands of insects from dumpsite recorded least
values (Table 1). It is noteworthy that lipids (triglycerides and cholesterol)
concentrations in the mushroom gland were significantly higher than that of protein
and glucose (Table 1).
Table 1: organic composition of mushroom glands of adult male cockroach
(Periplaneta americana) from different microhabitats
mean values with same superscript across the column are not significantly different
(p>0.05)
Table 2 shows the inorganic composition of the mushroom gland of adult male
cockroaches from different locations. There was significant difference in the
concentration of inorganic substances in the mushroom glands from different
locations. The mushroom glands of roaches from the kitchen had the highest calcium
and magnesium concentrations while the dumpsite had the highest sodium
concentration. Sodium recorded the highest concentration of all the minerals analyzed
in the mushroom gland while magnesium had the least.
Table 2: Inorganic composition of mushroom gland of adult male cockroach
(Periplaneta americana) from different microhabitats
mean values with same superscript across the column are not significantly different
(p>0.05)
Location Total Protein (g/dl) Glucose (mg/dl) Cholesterol (mg/dl) Triglycerides (mg/dl) 
Grocery Store 1.60±0.17a 4.06±0.60b 25.7±0.55b 71.5±0.86b
Toilet 0.70±0.02c 3.60±0.10bc 23.2±0.45c 32.2±0.86c
Kitchen 0.80±0.10c 5.63±0.25a 40.4±0.45a 87.4±0.55a
Dump Site 1.23±0.15b 3.03±0.15c 22.6±0.20c 22.7±0.36d
Location Sodium (mEq/L) Potassium (mEq/L) Calcium (mg/dl) Magnesium (mg/dl)
Grocery Store 13.7±0.47d 8.76±0.90a 0.52±0.09c 1.23±0.25b
Toilet 23.2±0.25b 3.33±0.41d 3.16±0.40b 1.46±0.35b
Kitchen 22.1±0.40c 4.46±0.32c 8.93±0.25a 2.06±0.20a
Dump Site 46.0±0.20a 5.93±0.15b 3.40±0.26b 1.26±0.35b
Acta entomologica slovenica, 30 (1), 2022
68
Discussion
The mushroom gland is a male cockroach accessory gland, which is responsible
for nourishment of sperms with necessary nutrients transferable to the female
cockroach during mating (Chapman, 1990). The present study agrees with this role
of mushroom gland as it is rich in both organic and inorganic substances which are
highly needed in reproductive activities of insects.
The mushroom gland of cockroaches collected from the kitchen had higher
nutrients than those from other habitats. Cockroaches are generally found around food
crumbs and leftovers as well as around humid environments (Bell et al., 2007). The
left over foods and remnants are sources of nutrients to the cockroaches and expectedly
the tissues accumulate the nutrients. Ademolu et al. (2020) similarly observed that
cockroaches found in kitchen areas had higher nutritive values than those collected
from other venues. Higher nutrients in the mushroom accessory gland suggests that
more metabolites are available in the tissue for reproductive processes and this might
explain higher number of cockroaches in the kitchen (apart from being attracted by
the crumbs) as the cockroaches lay higher number of viable eggs. The amount of food
taken by the grasshopper Zonocerus variegatus affected the accessory gland protein
content during first week after emergence (muse, 1993).
mating is an energy sapping process that costs insect reproductive tissues
nourishments (Ademolu et al., 2011 and Chapman, 1990). The presence of higher
concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol in the mushroom gland confirm this
fact. Cholesterol is the major sterol form synthesized by insects and it’s derived from
the plant based diets (Jing and Behmer, 2020). lipids are energy sources, which are
highly needed during mating (especially by male insects). The mushroom gland is
involved in the secretion of the spermatophore which is discharged during copulation.
during mating, the accessory gland protein of Z. variegatus dropped by 17.6% (muse,
1993).
The presence of inorganic substances (minerals) in the mushroom gland and higher
concentration of sodium reflects the plant based diets of the cockroaches. most of the
materials consumed by the insects are leftovers from students hostels which are
basically plant based (cereals and vegetables). magnesium and calcium play key roles
in oviposition and egg production and being present in mushroom gland makes
available in the semen for transfer to the eggs in the female cockroaches during
mating.
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Received / Prejeto: 4. 10. 2021
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