Antibiotics discovered ... in the cockroach!

Who would have thought that the cockroach, strongly associated with unhealthy, his popularity would skyrocket? It is now the case: the molecules that they secrete could one day replace our old antibiotics become ineffective.

The search for new antibiotics are going well now and even more so since the recent global shock suggesting that IFN-resistant super bacteria were a way to conquer the world. If this has not yet taken place, researchers are trying as best they could to prepare to prevent a viral epidemic worldwide. While some have found antibiotics in honey, a product used for centuries as a natural antiseptic, it may be even more imagination to flush them out ...

So researchers at the University of Nottingham in England have made a strange and interesting discovery. The cockroaches, or cockroaches, these unsavory critters and often associated with poor hygiene and unsanitary places, might offer humanity a great gift: a dozen small molecules that have desired properties.

The nervous system of these insects has been used in experiments with bacterial cultures. The results, presented at the Fall Conference of the Society for General Microbiology being held in Nottingham and tomorrow until September 9, indicate that the nine molecules are capable of killing bacteria, very resistant to other antibiotics.

Staphylococcus aureus, responsible for serious infections, 90% are eliminated by the brains of cockroaches. Credits DR

90% of bacteria killed

The strains tested included Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Staphylococcus aureus (Staphylococcus aureus) is responsible for nosocomial infections can lead to septicemia. There are particular strains of staphylococci resistant to methicillin (MRSA), which make the proposed treatments ineffective. Enteric Escherichia coli, in turn, naturally occurring bacteria in our digestive system but sometimes responsible for food poisoning.

The researchers have shown that these molecules extracted from cockroaches are able to eliminate 90% of both species of bacteria tested. These initial results are encouraging, especially since additional experiments showed that human cells are not affected by antibiotics cockroach. Research is underway to determine the effect of molecules on other bacterial species such as Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Burkholderia. In addition, the mode of action of each molecule is likely to be discussed in more detail.

According to Simon Lee, a researcher involved in this work, the properties of antibiotics cockroaches are not surprising. In fact, they live in dirty conditions, such as bacteria proliferate around them. It is therefore logical that they have developed mechanisms to protect themselves. Good for us!