Science & Nature

Anti-infection jungle frogs may cure diabetes

By team ⋅ March 29, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

The Times, 3 March

The South American ‘paradoxical frog’, which dwells in the lagoons of the Amazon, could prove to be a lifesaver for millions suffering from diabetes. The frog has a slimy skin that secretes a substance able to stimulate the release of insulin, the hormone deficient in diabetes patients. It gets its name from its incredible ability to decrease in size as it grows older.

Scientists found that the frog’s peptide, a protein-building block known as pseudin-2, increased release of insulin in cultured cells by 50 per cent. Currently there are 2.3 million diagnosed diabetes sufferers in the UK, most with Type 2, which is strongly associated with lifestyle factors and usually occurs in middle age.

The skin secretions of frogs and other amphibians are being investigated as a rich resource of biological agents that could lead to new drugs. However, more tests are required before the therapy can be carried out on humans. Shakespeare’s witches may have had it right when they stirred a stew of ‘toe of frog’ and ‘eye of newt’…