Smelly Frogs Possess Antibiotic Substances
by healthypages on 18/03/2012 - 03:15 pm |
Scientists have discovered that some very smelly frogs have skin that kills a huge range of bacteria. This discovery could lead to the development of a new way to deal with antibiotic-resistant pathogens that are proving to be a big threat today.
The frogs have been labeled as “odorous frogs,” with some of them smelling like rotten fish according to the researchers. For several years scientists have known about the huge antibiotic possibilities that could be derived from analysing all the different anti-bacterial secretions made from frogs' skin.
As frogs tend to live in wet and warm places, they have naturally developed a skin that is able to resist the thriving bacteria that share their environment. Without such protection they would be wiped out by infection.
The frogs' skin secretes peptides which are the foundation for their bacterial resistant properties. By focusing attention on discerning the different types of antimicrobial peptides (AMP), research scientists Yun Zhang, Wen-Hui Lee and Xinwang Yang were able to discover over 700 AMPs all coming from nine types of odorous frogs. That is equivalent to a third of the world's known antimicrobial peptides making it the biggest concentration in the world of disease killing agents.
Not only do the AMPs kill bacteria directly but some of them also work to activate the frog's immune system to further enhance protection.
The National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Basic Research Program of China funded the project.