Al Ain: In the hunt for new antibiotics, a scientist at the UAE University (UAEU) has uncovered potential prospects of anti-microbial agents in the skin secretions of frogs.
The scientist, Professor John Michael Conlon from the Department of Biochemistry at the UAEU, has been conducting further research and testing on the chemicals found in the skin secretions of frogs.
Frogs live in warm and wet environments that make their skins an attractive habitat for bacteria.
They secrete different chemicals to fight these bacteria and the threat of new infections, a recently published report revealed.
Scientists have been working hard to find new antibiotics and improve the ability of human beings to fend off new infections.
Antibiotics are derived from bacteria or fungi but the hunt for new antimicrobial agents has seen researchers extend their horizons to frogs and toads — species considered good at fighting bacteria.
Professor Conlon told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston earlier this year that he has collected skin chemicals from more than 6,000 types of frogs. His research has found 100 compounds that help frogs fight off bacteria, the report said.
Professor Conlon told Gulf News that UAEU chemists had been conducting research on frogs for the last 15 years.
He has also found a potential therapeutic agent in frog skins that helps fight diabetic foot ulcers in human beings.
