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Frogs can cure the flu
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Scientists from India have discovered that a certain species of frog – namely Hydrophylax bahuvistara – is capable of secreting substances that are lethal to a huge number of different flu strains. This information was made public by the BBC news agency.
Scientists have carefully analyzed various protein molecules that were isolated from the mucus secretions of amphibians inhabiting the southern regions of India. The mucus secretions were produced by frogs after they had been subjected to a moderate electric shock. The researchers were surprised to learn that among more than three dozen peptide compounds, four of them had clearly expressed antiviral properties. However, only one of them was recognized as absolutely harmless - urumin. Urumin demonstrated complete safety for the human body: it did not damage red blood cells and at the same time had a detrimental effect on influenza viruses.
According to Josh Jacob, a specialist and one of the study's leaders, hundreds of thousands to a million different compounds need to be tested to find one potential drug. That's why the scientist was quite surprised when four potential medicinal substances were simultaneously detected in one animal.
Urumin works by blocking hemagglutinin (H 1 ), which is located on the surface of viral cells. Hemagglutinin helps particles bind to host cells and get inside them.
The drug obtained by the scientists has already been tested on experimental rodents. After the introduction of the urumin-based drug into the body of mice, the survival rate of the rodents was 100% when injected with a lethal dose of the H1 flu virus . This virus was the source of mass influenza cases in 2009.
Currently, specialists are investigating the possibility of producing medicines based on the substance they found. They also need to find out whether peptide compounds obtained from frog mucus secretions are capable of inhibiting the development of other viruses, such as the Zika virus.
There are currently many known influenza viruses. Such viruses can affect both humans and even-toed ungulates, poultry, seals, dolphins, etc. Most often, viruses are specific to each animal species. However, they tend to change, evolve, and interbreed with each other. Therefore, there may be cases of a virus that can simultaneously affect different animal species. Such viruses include the recently known pathogens of "bird" and "swine" flu.
Since viruses are constantly changing, it is very important for humans to have a universal antiviral drug that could help solve the problem of periodic flu epidemics and pandemics. But now ordinary people can only wait for new discoveries from scientists, and also hope for a decrease in the destructive potential of viruses.
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