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Antibiotics From A Frog
A new concept of antibiotics has been discovered in nature. It is produced by the Tungara Frog as a mean to protect its eggs. #antibiotics #naturalmedicine #frog
Nature is just magic. Surprising at least.
Now that the search for a new concept of antibiotics has begun, researchers from the University of Strathclyde found a wonderdrug produced by a small frog, the Engystomops pustulosus.
While mating, Tungara frogs release a protein cocktail that they beat into a foam with their back legs. The tiny frogs, less than 5 centimetres long, lay their eggs in these foam nests to protect them from disease, predators and environmental stresses.
The highly stable foam loaded with the antibiotic vancomycin was shown to prevent in vitro growth of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus for a period of 48 hours. The foam proteins were tested in vitro against keratinocytes, a type of skin cell, for 24 hours. These cells were still alive and viable after 24 hours of exposure, demonstrating that the foam is not toxic to human cells.
Now that the search for a new concept of antibiotics has begun, researchers from the University of Strathclyde found a wonderdrug produced by a small frog, the Engystomops pustulosus.
While mating, Tungara frogs release a protein cocktail that they beat into a foam with their back legs. The tiny frogs, less than 5 centimetres long, lay their eggs in these foam nests to protect them from disease, predators and environmental stresses.
The highly stable foam loaded with the antibiotic vancomycin was shown to prevent in vitro growth of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus for a period of 48 hours. The foam proteins were tested in vitro against keratinocytes, a type of skin cell, for 24 hours. These cells were still alive and viable after 24 hours of exposure, demonstrating that the foam is not toxic to human cells.