14 DAY TRIAL // We rather associate alligators and crocodiles with death, but these creatures could one day save your life, as a research team signaled at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Blood proteins of the alligators could deliver new powerful antibiotics against infections accompanying diabetic ulcers, severe burns, "superbugs" resistant to current antibiotics and Candida albicans, a fungal infection representing a severe issue in cases of AIDS and transplants, when patients have weakened immunity.
The team led by Dr. Mark Merchant, a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La, previously revealed that alligators possess an unusually strong immune system, very different from ours. Unlike humans, these reptiles can kill germs like fungi, viruses, and bacteria while lacking previous exposure to them. This could be an evolutionary adaptation for quick wound healing, as alligators often injure each other during territorial fights and they subsequently remain in germ-filled water that could otherwise finish them off rapidly.
The team isolated (immune) white blood cells (leucocytes) from blood of American alligators and extracted their active proteins. In lab tests, small amounts of these proteins destroyed most of bacteria, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), increasingly resistant to most current antibiotics and responsible for thousands of hospital deaths annually.
These molecules also destroyed 6 out of 8 different strains of Candida albicans. A previous study made by the same team showed that alligator immune proteins could fight HIV.
The next step is to detect the molecular structures of these immune proteins and see which of them are the most potent. The team believes there may be at least four useful proteins. Once their structure is known, these proteins could make antibacterial or antifungal drugs, including pills and creams.
"These drugs show particular promise as topical ointments. Gator-blood creams could conceivably be rubbed onto the foot ulcers of patients with diabetes to help prevent the type of uncontrolled infections that lead to amputations. The creams could also be applied to the skin of burn patients to keep infections at bay until damaged skin can heal," said Merchant.
The "alligacin" could be developed in 7 to 10 years.
"Until then, don't try to create your own home-remedies using alligator blood, as raw, unprocessed blood could make you sick or even kill you if injected," warned Merchant.
Crocodiles, too, may possess similar proteins, and the team is going to investigate blood from alligator and crocodile species throughout the world.