BBC News Brasil and The Conversation
Few people know it, but many of the drugs we use today have exotic origins.
An example is semaglutide, known under the brands Wegovy and Ozempic.
The popular drug used to treat overweight and obesity was actually inspired by the venom of the lizard called Gila monster (Heloderma Suspectum).
Scientists have discovered that a hormone called exendin4 from this reptile’s venom could be used to treat type 2 diabetes.
Exendin4 is similar to a human hormone called GLP1, which is released after eating and is important for controlling blood sugar levels.
Research on exendin4 produced semaglutide, a derivative of the molecule that remains in the body for much longer and produces the desired pharmacological effect.
This is how Wegovy and Ozempic, which contain semaglutide, were created.
The Gila monster isn’t the only reptile that has inspired innovative medicines.
The venom of the Brazilian pit viper (Bothrops jararaca) led to the development of a class of drugs known as angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs).
In the late 1960s, researchers studied this snake’s venom and its effects on blood pressure.
They isolated a peptide from the venom that could inhibit an enzyme called angiotensinconverting enzyme (ACE), thereby lowering blood pressure.
The experiment led to the development of a synthetic version of the peptide called captopril.
Although captopril is rarely prescribed today, it gave rise to the next generation of ACE inhibitors such as enalapril, which is often used to treat high blood pressure and heart problems.
The venoms of terrestrial and marine life are a rich source of medicinal compounds.
Snails are known to produce a number of peptides in their venom that serve to immobilize their prey.
And a synthetic version of one of the peptides found in snail venom is used in the painkiller ziconotide.
Another sea creature, the Caribbean sea squirt, provided the cancer drug trabectedin.
Studies conducted with trabectedin have shown positive results in the treatment of advanced soft tissue cancers such as liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma, malignant and aggressive tumors that are difficult to treat.
In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urgently approved the use of trabectedin to treat these cancers in patients with tissue cancer: advanced moles that have not responded to chemotherapy.
Anticoagulants
Leeches used in medicine also provided lifesaving drugs.
When these creatures latch onto a person to suck their blood, they inject compounds such as hirudin and calin to prevent their victim’s blood from clotting.
The anticoagulant drugs bivalirudin and desirudin are derived from hirudin.
These medications are given to people who are at high risk of blood clots, such as those with atrial fibrillation, a type of heart rhythm disorder.
If a blood clot blocks an artery, it can lead to cardiac arrest or CVA (cerebral vascular accident, also known as stroke).
Another coagulant called warfarin dates back to the 1920s, when cattle began dying in the United States and Canada, falling victim to a mysterious disease that caused the animals to bleed.
The cause was found to be moldy sweet clover, which was used as animal feed. The harmful compound in the mold that caused the bleeding is called dicumarol and was developed to make warfarin.
Warfarin was originally sold as a rodenticide because it was very effective at causing internal bleeding in rodents.
But researchers soon recognized its potential therapeutic use in humans as an anticoagulant.
The real triumph of the medication came in 1955, when the then American President Dwight Eisenhower (18901969) suffered a heart attack and was successfully treated with warfarin.
Explosive discovery
Nitroglycerin was discovered in the 19th century.
It is derived from glycerin and was originally known for its explosive properties. But its medicinal properties were soon recognized.
Middleaged men who worked with explosives, such as railroad builders, sometimes found that their chest pain subsided after handling sticks of dynamite.
Medical researchers heard this story and developed a nitroglycerinbased drug to relieve angina symptoms (chest pain caused by lack of blood) by dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the heart.
The drug is still used today despite its irritating side effect of setting off explosive detectors at airports.
Finally, we have mustard gas, a deadly chemical weapon, to thank for making chemotherapy possible.
During World War I, scientists observed that mustard gas destroyed lymphatic tissue.
Then they started thinking about whether the substance could destroy cancer cells in lymph nodes.
But it wasn’t until the 1940s that nitrogen mustard (a derivative of mustard gas) was first used to treat a patient with blood cancer.
Subsequently, several medicines derived from mustard compounds were developed.
Modern medicines continue to be developed primarily on computers and increasingly with the use of artificial intelligence. But researchers will continue to look for inspiration for new drugs in weird and wonderful places.
*Craig Russell is Professor of Pharmacy at Aston University in the United Kingdom.
This article was originally published on the academic news website The Conversation and is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read the original English version here.