Toad’s brain too contain potent germ-fighters
April 14th, 2011 - 6:12 pm ICT by ANIWashington, April 14 (ANI): Scientists have long known that frog and toad skins contain hundreds of germ-fighting substances.
Now, a new study has revealed that the toad brains also may contain an abundance of antibacterial and antiviral substances that could inspire a new generation of medicines.
Ren Lai and colleagues point out that scientists know little about the germ-fighting proteins in amphibian brains, despite many studies showing that amphibians synthesize and secrete a remarkably diverse array of antimicrobial substances in their skin.
So they analyzed brains from the Giant Fire-Bellied Toad and the Small-webbed Bell Toad.
They discovered 79 different antimicrobial peptides, the components of proteins, including 59 that were totally new to science.
The diversity of the peptides “is, to our knowledge, the most extreme yet described for any animal brains,” they noted.
Some of the peptides showed strong antimicrobial activity, crippling or killing strains of staph bacteria, E. coli, and the fungus that causes yeast infections in humans.
The research is promising as it implies that the toad’s brain could turn out to be a valuable source of antiviral and anti bacterial drugs.
The finding is reported in ACS’s Journal of Proteome Research. (ANI)
- Stinking frogs are rich source of antibiotic compounds - Dec 01, 2011
- Pumpkin skin may scare away disease-causing germs - Oct 29, 2009
- Bacteria-killing paper for next-generation food packaging - Feb 20, 2011
- Toads living on mountains at higher risk of dying from fungal infection - Jan 25, 2010
- Search on for 'lost amphibians' before they go extinct - Aug 09, 2010
- Alternatives to antibiotics in sight - Jun 09, 2011
- Scientists discover first protein-based amphibian toxin in Chinese tree frog - Aug 18, 2009
- World's toughest bacterium discovered - Sep 06, 2010
- 'Staph' bacteria prefer the taste of human blood - Dec 16, 2010
- Body armour Kevlar set to get germ-fighting virtues - Jul 21, 2008
- Mysterious allergen in wine that causes headaches, stuffy noses identified - Nov 18, 2010
- Newly-created bioactive peptides found to promote wound healing - Dec 08, 2010
- Tiny beaked toad, two other species discovered - Nov 28, 2010
- Four novel biomarkers that may help diagnose asthma, COPD identified - Mar 12, 2011
- Antibiotics from frog skin may help fight superbugs - Aug 27, 2010
Tags: acs, animal brains, antibacterial, antimicrobial activity, antimicrobial peptides, april 14, bell toad, e coli, fire bellied toad, frog and toad, fungus, germ, giant fire, journal of proteome research, lai, proteins, staph bacteria, strains, toad, yeast infections