A substance produced by the sharks could fight viruses

Written by Sandeep Nehra

Squalamine, a substance that sharks occur in the liver, could fight some human viruses, from hepatitis to yellow fever, researchers announced on Monday the United States.

The antibiotic properties of squalamine were already known since the discovery of this substance in 1993. But the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to examine its potential impact against viruses.

Researchers at the Medical Center of Georgetown University in Washington, found that this substance was able to limit the progression of viral infections in animals and in some cases even to heal.

Cultures in the laboratory showed that squalamine could “inhibit the infection of blood cells by dengue virus and the infection of human liver cells with hepatitis B and D,” according to the findings of the study .

Tests on animals have shown similar results with regard to the yellow fever virus and Eastern equine encephalitis (the “sleeping sickness”) and a type of herpes that affects rodents .

“This is a promising substance in its active ingredient and its chemical structure, has nothing in common with other materials currently being studied to treat the virus,” commented Dr. Michael Zasloff, the discoverer of squalamine.

Professor Zasloff said that the ideal dose of squalamine was not precisely determined but that he intended to carry out tests on humans.

Squalamine is harmless to humans and has been proposed to fight cancer and eye diseases. Research in this direction are underway.