Rio de Janeiro Brazil
A group of Brazilian researchers identified a substance present in the venom of snakes of the species yararacusú which is able to prevent the reproduction of viruses transmitted by covid-19 in the body, scientific sources reported on Tuesday.
The peptide (molecule) identified by researchers at Paulista State University (Unesp) inhibited by 75% the ability of SARS-CoV-2 virus to multiply in a culture of cmonkey cells in the laboratory, reported this academic center.
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 Unesp Institute of Chemistry and coordinator of the study.
The specialist explained that Unesp researchers had already identified molecules of yararacusú poison with antibacterial properties and therefore decided to test some of these peptides to see if they had action on SARS-CoV-2. “Fortunately we got an interesting result with one of the substances. We identified one that is not toxic to cells and that inhibits virus reproduction,” he said.
The yararacusu (Bothrops jararacussu) is a species of venomous snake of the genus Bothrops that has its habitat in wild regions of the west, south-east and south of Brazil, as well as in Bolivia, Paraguay and north of Argentina. 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 the reproduction of covid-19 in the body and give it time to create the antibodies needed to resist the disease. Researchers now aim to identify the possible correct dose of the molecule for the development of a substance with action on covid, to then start testing not only in the laboratory but also with animals to determine their effectiveness.
“If the results are positive we will be able to think about developing a treatment,” he stated. Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the covid pandemic in the world, is the second largest in terms of deaths, with just over 575,000 victims, and the third in number of infections, with 20.6 million cases.
The epidemic, however, is beginning to subside and the daily average of deaths is currently at its lowest level since January and that of contagion at its lowest level since November last year.