Washington, Dec 1 (IANS) The skin of some of the earth’s foulest smelling creatures houses a goldmine of anti-bacterial compounds — a potentially rich source of new drugs that could subdue resistent bugs, says a new research.
The research on amphibians that emit a stink like rotten fish, has led scientists to term them as ‘odorous frogs.’
Yun Zhang, Wen-Hui Lee and Xinwang Yang from the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) of China identified more than 700 of these substances from nine species of odorous frogs, the Journal of Proteome Research reported.
They concluded that anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) account for almost a third of all AMPs found in the world, the greatest known diversity of these germ-killing chemicals, a university statement said.
Interestingly, some of the AMPs have a dual action, killing bacteria directly and also activating the immune system to assist in the battle.
Frogs live in warm, wet places where bacteria thrive and have adapted skin that secretes chemicals, known as peptides, to protect themselves from infections.
