Alligator Blood May Put The Bite On Antibiotic-resistant Infections

[TZ]

Despite their reputation for deadly attacks on humans and pets, alligators are wiggling their way toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, biochemists in Louisiana reported at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. They described how proteins in gator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics to help fight infections associated with diabetic ulcers, severe burns, and "superbugs" that are resistant to conventional medication.
Their study, described as the first to explore the antimicrobial activity of alligator blood in detail, found a range of other promising uses for the gator's antibiotic proteins. Among them: combating Candida albicans yeast infections, which are a serious problem in AIDS patients and transplant recipients, who have weakened immune systems, the scientists say.

"We're very excited about the potential of these alligator blood proteins as both antibacterial and antifungal agents," says study co-author Mark Merchant, Ph.D., a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. "There's a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407074556.htm

[BOSSHOG]

1. Go GATORS!!!

Great news. In the summer time they are road kill on the interstates near the swamps and bayous. They don't fare to well against 18 wheelers.

[grasswire]

2. I was just reading about honey as treatment...

...for diabetic ulcers. Covering the wound with raw honey is apparently a cure. It's antibacterial.

[aquart]

4. And onions. But honey sure smells better.

[aquart]

3. So cool.