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Robert Klatt
Bacteria produce the natural substance rhizolutin from ginseng. In animal experiments with mice, this was able to dissolve the typical Alzheimer’s plaques.
Seoul (South Korea). Alzheimer’s is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world. According to data from the German Alzheimer Society e. V. (PDF) About 1.6 million people in Germany suffer from the disease. Drugs can slow the progression of brain cell destruction, but Alzheimer’s disease cannot be stopped permanently.
A discovery made by Yun Kwon scientists at Seoul National University now raises hope. According to their publication in the journal Angewandte Chemie, scientists have found that soil-dwelling bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce the previously unknown natural substance rizolutin from the Asian medicinal plant ginseng.
Cultivation of rhizolutin in the laboratory
In order to study the natural substance rhizolutin in detail, the scientists cultured these bacteria on a nutrient medium enriched with ginseng powder. Root microbes thus produced ten times more rhizolutin than in nature. It was thus possible to analyze the chemical structure of rhizolutin. The observed structure of the rhizolutin molecule from three connected rings surrounded by a ring of seven and six members was previously unknown to science.
A search of natural substances databases, however, showed that similar molecules exist, according to which rhizolutin may be suitable as an active ingredient for an Alzheimer’s drug. According to Kwon, the chemical structure is similar to agents that dissolve typical Alzheimer’s plaques from misfolded beta amyloid and tau proteins.
Effective against Alzheimer’s?
To test their thesis, the scientists conducted experiments with cell cultures of human neurons and glial cells, and with mice with Alzheimer’s disease. According to Kwon, “treating the mice with rizolutin led to significant dissolution of the protein plaques in the hippocampus of the animals.” The natural product dissolved both the dew proteins and the amyloid plaques. Rhizolutin was also able to inhibit cell death and inflammation triggered by beta amyloid in cell cultures.
The scientists then state that “their results show that this unique chemical compound attacks both amyloid plaques and tau proteins.” A computer simulation shows that rhizolutin most likely penetrates the misfolded protein through its water-repellent areas and lumps dissolve from within. The active ingredient is therefore comparable to an immunotherapy that has already been tested in several human clinical studies.
However, the study has not yet clarified whether rizolutin is actually suitable for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. In the past, it has happened several times that the active ingredients that have been successfully tested in experiments with mice have no effect on humans. Clinical studies are therefore needed to examine the effects on humans.
Angewandte Chemie, doi: 10.1002 / anie.202009294
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