Spider venom instead of viagra?
Viagra was proposed to be replaced with the venom of Brazilian wandering spiders
This is reported by the American edition of Wired (GMO Spider Venom May Be the Next Viagra) and the Daily Mail (Could spider venom be the next Viagra? Scientists studying arachnid bites say they may give hours-long erections).
Photo: Joao P. Burini / Wikipedia
Ingestion of the venom of such spiders into the human blood can lead to increased salivation and difficulty breathing for several hours. Another unexpected consequence of this may be priapism — prolonged erection without sexual arousal.
It occurs due to excessive filling of the cavernous bodies of the erectile tissue of the penis with blood. The reason for this, as scientists found out earlier, is the toxic protein PnTx2-6 contained in the venom of spiders from the genus Phoneutria.
Korean scientists have already tested PnTx2-6 on rats (article by Jung et al. The effect of PnTx2-6 protein from Phoneutria nigriventer spider toxin on improvement of erectile dysfunction in a rat model of cavernous nerve injury is published in the journal Urology). Eight-week-old rodents were injected three times within four weeks with the drug into erectile tissues with a harmless baculovirus containing PnTx2-6 from Phoneutria nigriventer.
At the end of the experiment, the animals demonstrated a significant improvement in erectile functions. This was due to an increase in the release of nitric oxide into the blood, which dilates blood vessels and thus improves blood circulation.
Diagram from an article in Urology – VM
Scientists note that although the venom of Brazilian wandering spiders contains various substances that affect the human body in different ways, the drug based on PnTx2-6, which they are working on, will have fewer contraindications than Viagra.
In addition, the new drug may become an alternative to sildenafil, which, according to doctors, has no effect on about 30 percent of men taking it. However, treatment with a potential drug, as scientists note, may take more than one year.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru19.02.2015