Biochemists from Louisiana in the U.S. say blood from alligators could help fight deadly 'superbugs' and other infections.
The researchers suggest the proteins in 'gator' blood could provide a powerful new source of antibiotics with which to fight superbugs infections associated with diabetic ulcers and severe burns which are resistant to conventional medication.
The study which is apparently the first to explore in detail the anti-microbial activity of alligator blood, found a range of other promising uses for the creature's antibiotic proteins.
The scientists say they could be used to combat Candida albicans yeast infections, which are a serious problem in AIDS patients and transplant recipients, who have weakened immune systems.
Co-author Dr. Mark Merchant, a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, in Louisiana says there is a real possibility that people could be treated with an alligator blood product in the future.
Dr. Merchant has carried out other research which demonstrated that alligators have an unusually strong immune system quite different from that of humans and are able to fight microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria without having prior exposure to them.
The researchers believe this is an evolutionary adaptation to promote quick wound healing, as alligators are often injured during fierce territorial battles.
Along with colleagues from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, the researchers collected blood samples from American alligators after injecting them with a substance to stimulate their immune systems.
They then isolated the disease-fighting white blood cells (leucocytes) from which they extracted the active proteins.
Tests carried out in the laboratory revealed that tiny amounts of these protein extracts killed a wide range of bacteria, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the deadly bacteria which are now increasingly becoming problematic in the community outside the hospital setting.
Superbugs such as MRSA are such a problem because they are resistant to multiple antibiotics and as a result cause thousands of deaths each year.
The proteins extracts also killed six out of eight different strains of Candida albicans, and earlier research also suggests that the blood proteins may help fight HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.