In the lab, the study team tested eight of the compounds against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which commonly infect skin wounds. They found and analyzed 48 cationic peptides, 47 of which were from proteins known to have antimicrobial properties. So they incubated Komodo dragon blood with negatively charged particles to attract and pull out the positively charged peptides. Most animals produce these peptides as part of their immune system, but the researchers hoped the Komodo dragon might be making some unusual ones. They were looking for unique compounds called cationic antimicrobial peptides - positively charged pieces of protein. In one study by the team, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, they used a type of bioprospecting - the search for medicinal drugs and other compounds from natural sources - to look for antibacterial compounds in the blood of Komodo dragons.ĭon't Miss: Ants Create Chemical Cocktails to Brew Antibiotics Compounds in Dragon Blood Showed Antibacterial Activity Its reputation to survive while colonized with lots of horrible disease-causing bacteria, true or untrue, has made it the subject of research in pursuit of natural antimicrobial agents and led scientists to some remarkable findings.Īccording to two new research studies led by biochemists Barney Bishop and Monique van Hoek from the College of Science at George Mason University, their blood contains antimicrobial proteins that help them resist deadly infections and may be of potential use to us, too. Despite legends to the contrary, it appears that the saliva of a Komodo dragon is not teeming with pathogenic bacteria that kills their prey.
0 kommentar(er)
