Post by Διαμονδ on Jan 22, 2018 11:31:06 GMT
The poison of the arrows of African hunters was suggested to be used for contraception!
American scientists from the universities of Minnesota and Kansas found that the substance ouabain, which African hunters lubricate arrowheads, can serve as the basis for male pharmacological contraception. About the study wrote Science Alert.
www.sciencealert.com/toxic-extract-poison-arrows-male-pill-ouabain-contraceptive
Uabain is found in the roots, stems and leaves of the shrubs of the kutra family, which grows in East Africa and in Yemen. It is believed that its toxic properties were known to Ethiopian hunters two thousand years ago - the ouabain stopped the heart of the wounded animals.
In the XVIII century, the medicinal property of the substance was discovered - in small doses, uabain was used to treat hypotension and arrhythmia. In 2014, scientists found that the toxin causes asthenozoospermia, in which the activity of spermatozoa decreases and the possibility of fertilization is blocked. Then the substance was considered too dangerous to be used as a contraceptive because of its effect on the heart.
In a new study, American chemists claim that they managed to modify the toxin in such a way that it ceased to affect the cardiovascular system. To do this, scientists removed a group of sugars from the molecule of uabain and replaced its lactone group with a triazole group. The resulting modification of the substance only affects the flagella of spermatozoa, which reduces their mobility and leads to temporary infertility.
Previously, Danish scientists have found that women's oral contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer.
ria.ru/science/20180120/1512981564.html
American scientists from the universities of Minnesota and Kansas found that the substance ouabain, which African hunters lubricate arrowheads, can serve as the basis for male pharmacological contraception. About the study wrote Science Alert.
www.sciencealert.com/toxic-extract-poison-arrows-male-pill-ouabain-contraceptive
Uabain is found in the roots, stems and leaves of the shrubs of the kutra family, which grows in East Africa and in Yemen. It is believed that its toxic properties were known to Ethiopian hunters two thousand years ago - the ouabain stopped the heart of the wounded animals.
In the XVIII century, the medicinal property of the substance was discovered - in small doses, uabain was used to treat hypotension and arrhythmia. In 2014, scientists found that the toxin causes asthenozoospermia, in which the activity of spermatozoa decreases and the possibility of fertilization is blocked. Then the substance was considered too dangerous to be used as a contraceptive because of its effect on the heart.
In a new study, American chemists claim that they managed to modify the toxin in such a way that it ceased to affect the cardiovascular system. To do this, scientists removed a group of sugars from the molecule of uabain and replaced its lactone group with a triazole group. The resulting modification of the substance only affects the flagella of spermatozoa, which reduces their mobility and leads to temporary infertility.
Previously, Danish scientists have found that women's oral contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer.
ria.ru/science/20180120/1512981564.html
