A group of Brazilian researchers identified a substance present in the poison of snakes of the yararacusu species that is capable of preventing the reproduction of the virus that transmits covid-19 in the organism, scientific sources reported Tuesday.
The peptide (molecule), identified by researchers at Paulista State University (Unesp), inhibited by 75% the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to multiply in a culture of monkey cells in the laboratory, the academic center reported.
The preliminary results of the research were published on August 12 in the digital edition of the international scientific journal Molecules and allow us to think about the possibility of developing medicines to treat covid, according to Eduardo Maffud, professor at the Institute of Chemistry of Unesp and coordinator of the study.
The specialist explained that Unesp researchers had already identified Yararacusu poison molecules with antibacterial properties and therefore decided to test some of these peptides to see if they had action on SARS-CoV-2.
"we happily got an interesting result with one of the substances. We identified one that is not toxic to cells and inhibits the reproduction of the virus," he said.
Más informaciónLa peste bubónica pone en riesgo la vida de los jóvenes en el este de RDC Alberto Toro en Pitarque: ¡qué bueno que viniste!Yararacusú ("Bothrops jaracussu") is a species of snake in the genus Bothrops that has its habitat in the jungle regions of western, south-eastern and southern Brazil, as well as in Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.
Ask me to do some physics problem? Sure. Ask me how to connect a printer to a computer? Not your girl
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The poisoning of people caused by this variety is the most common in Brazil among the different snakes.
According to Maffud, a possible medicine developed from the identified substance could slow down the reproduction of covid-19 in the body and give it time to create the antibodies necessary to resist the disease.
Researchers now aim to identify the possible correct dose of the molecule for the development of a covid active substance, by then initiating tests not only in the laboratory, but also with animals to determine its efficacy.
"if the results are positive, we can think about the development of a treatment," he said.
Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the covid pandemic in the world, is the second in number of deaths, with just over 575,000 victims, and the third in the number of infections, with 20.6 million cases.
The epidemic, however, is beginning to decline and the daily average of deaths is currently at its lowest level since January and the level of contagion at its lowest level since November last year.