The synthetic version of the compound-- pseudin-2 -- could be used to produce new drugs, scientists from the University of Ulster and United Arab Emirates University reported on Monday. They tested a synthetic version of pseudin-2, which protects the frog from infection, and found it stimulated the secretion of insulin in pancreatic cells in the laboratory and importantly.
There were no toxic effects on the cells, the BBC reports adding that the synthetic version was better at stimulating insulin than the natural compound. Researchers also added that the new discovery opens way for treating diabetes.
Study leader Yasser Abdel-Wahab, senior lecturer in biomedical sciences at the University of Ulster told BBC, "We found that it stimulated the secretion of insulin and that the synthetic version is more potent than pseudin-2 itself."
By carrying out lab tests on the nocturnal frog that dwells in the ponds and lagoons of the Amazon, scientists found that the paradoxical frog's peptide, pseudin-2, increased release of insulin in cultured cells by 50 per cent.
Type 2 diabetes occurs in the middle age and is associated with lifestyle factors such as obesity. People suffer from this disease when their body does not produce enough insulin or becomes resistant to the concentrations available.
However, according to the researchers, more work needs to be carried out before the therapy is ready to be tested on human patients.
