Alligator blood may put the bite on antibiotic-resistant infections

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Alligator blood could provide a powerful new source of antibiotics for fighting deadly superbugs and other infections researchers say. Photo credit: Courtesy of U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
Alligator blood could provide a powerful new source of antibiotics for fighting deadly "superbugs" and other infections, researchers say. Photo credit: Courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Despite their reputation for deadly attacks on humans and pets, alligators are wiggling their way toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, biochemists in Louisiana reported today at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. They described how proteins in gator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics to help fight infections associated with diabetic ulcers, severe burns, and “superbugs” that are resistant to conventional medication.


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