Wed, 16 Feb 2005
CBC News
MONCTON - A chemist in New Brunswick has discovered a potential painkiller in the saliva of a shrew and has patented a synthetic version of the active ingredient.
When Mount Allison biochemistry Prof. Jack Stewart began researching shrew spit, it raised a few eyebrows, but the researcher said he knew he was on to something.
He thinks the possible medical benefits include:
Pain relief.
Relief of muscle tremors and neuromuscular diseases.
Migraine treatment.
Given the sales possibilities of an aging market, several pharmaceutical representatives and venture capitalists have come knocking at Stewart's lab door.
Companies are attracted to shrew spit because it could work as a muscle relaxer, like Botox.
Shrews are one of only two known mammals that release venom. The little creatures paralyze their victims and then eat them alive.
When CBC News spoke to Stewart two years ago, he suspected the paralytic property might work as a painkiller. Since saliva is a complex mixture of proteins and other molecules, he first had to break it down before it could be tested.
"Eventually, you kept throwing things away until all that you've got left is whatever it is that's paralytic," said Stewart. "That took us a year."
Now, Stewart has made a synthetic version of the paralytic material equivalent to 40,000 shrew bites.
Apart from pain relief, the shrew spit may have potential to fight prostate and ovarian cancer, the team believes.
While in the lab, Stewart noticed that it stops those kinds of cancerous cells from getting the calcium they need to grow.
"I don't know where it's going to lead but it sure is an interesting observation that we can stop the movement of calcium into these cells," he said.
To convert the potential curative powers of shrew spit into pill or liquid form will take several more years of research.
CBC News
MONCTON - A chemist in New Brunswick has discovered a potential painkiller in the saliva of a shrew and has patented a synthetic version of the active ingredient.
When Mount Allison biochemistry Prof. Jack Stewart began researching shrew spit, it raised a few eyebrows, but the researcher said he knew he was on to something.
He thinks the possible medical benefits include:
Pain relief.
Relief of muscle tremors and neuromuscular diseases.
Migraine treatment.
Given the sales possibilities of an aging market, several pharmaceutical representatives and venture capitalists have come knocking at Stewart's lab door.
Companies are attracted to shrew spit because it could work as a muscle relaxer, like Botox.
Shrews are one of only two known mammals that release venom. The little creatures paralyze their victims and then eat them alive.
When CBC News spoke to Stewart two years ago, he suspected the paralytic property might work as a painkiller. Since saliva is a complex mixture of proteins and other molecules, he first had to break it down before it could be tested.
"Eventually, you kept throwing things away until all that you've got left is whatever it is that's paralytic," said Stewart. "That took us a year."
Now, Stewart has made a synthetic version of the paralytic material equivalent to 40,000 shrew bites.
Apart from pain relief, the shrew spit may have potential to fight prostate and ovarian cancer, the team believes.
While in the lab, Stewart noticed that it stops those kinds of cancerous cells from getting the calcium they need to grow.
"I don't know where it's going to lead but it sure is an interesting observation that we can stop the movement of calcium into these cells," he said.
To convert the potential curative powers of shrew spit into pill or liquid form will take several more years of research.
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