Venom and Hot Peppers Offer a Key to Killing Resistant Bacteria
Researchers from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has identified new ways to fight tuberculosis and reduce bacterial resistance, developing three new antibiotics derived from scorpion venom and habanero peppers.
A team led by Lourival Domingos Possani Postay, from the Morelos Institute of Biotechnology campus, created two drugs that demonstrated effectiveness against the bacteria. Mycobacterium tuberculosisresponsible for tuberculosis, as well as against Staphylococcus aureusa microorganism that, in a hospital setting, can cause a variety of clinical complications, ranging from skin infections to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis and endocarditis.
Antibiotics came from scorpion venom Diplocentrus melicioriginally from the state of Veracruz. The team was able to isolate two colorless molecules called benzoquinones, heterocyclic compounds that do not contain amino acids, from the arachnid toxin.
These molecules have a particular property: on contact with air, they oxidize and change color. One turns blue and the other red. This behavior allowed scientists to determine their chemical structure, synthesize them in the laboratory and evaluate their biological properties.
The results showed that the blue benzoquinone has the ability to act against the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, while the red is effective against Staphylococcus aureus. Richard Zare, renowned expert in the field of physical chemistry and professor of chemistry at Stanford University, participated in this process, which strengthened the validation of the results.
The project also involved the collaboration of Rogelio Hernández Pando, from the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, who evaluated the effect of blue benzoquinone on a mouse model with induced tuberculosis. After the tests, he concluded that the molecule acts as a very effective antibiotic against this disease.
Subsequently, the team conducted further tests and found that the same substance is also capable of eliminating other bacteria, such as Acinetobacter baumanniia highly resistant opportunistic pathogen that is often associated with infections of the blood, urinary tract, lungs, and wounds, particularly in hospitals.
Molecules obtained from scorpion venom have already been patented in Mexico and South Africa. Currently, researchers are working to develop nanoparticles that function as stabilizers and protection systems, so that antibiotics can be safely administered into the body.
According to Possani Postay, the next step is to carry out clinical trials, although he recognizes that these involve considerable investments. For this reason, he expressed interest in collaborating with a domestic pharmaceutical company to produce these compounds on a large scale.
From a sauce to an antibiotic
At the same time, another group from the UNAM Institute of Biotechnology identified a peptide in habanero pepper that has the ability to fight opportunistic bacteria that can cause serious infections, especially in patients with weakened immune systems.
This project, led by Gerardo Corzo Burguete and Georgina Estrada Tapia of the Yucatan Scientific Research Center, focused on the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosaconsidered by the World Health Organization as a high priority pathogen due to its resistance to conventional antibiotics.
Scientists have identified a peptide called defensin J1-1 in the habanero pepper (chinese pepper). Based on these findings, they developed a biotechnological process to produce a drug called XisHar J1-1, which was found to be effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and has the potential to treat infections caused by fungi.
The procedure involved genetically modifying a bacteria to induce production of defensin J1-1. Subsequently, the modified microorganism was cultivated by submerged fermentation, an industrial technique that allows the generation of compounds on a large scale. Finally, the peptide was extracted and purified for use as an antibiotic.
