Frogs in milk could lead to new antibiotics

An old fashioned method for keeping milk from going sour could be the key to a medicinal breakthrough.

Moscow State University scientists discovered that the process of placing a frog in milk to keep it from going off also revealed a number of antibiotic compounds in the frog's skin that could be developed in to effective new medicines. The frogs secrete the substances naturally as a defense against bacteria and microorganisms that thrive in their natural habitat.

"These peptides could be potentially useful for the prevention of both pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacterial strains while their action may also explain the traditional experience of rural population," the researchers wrote. Early experiments revealed that the substances worked as well against some common forms of bacteria as existing prescription antibiotics.


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