Alligator blood found to fight more than 20 types of bacteria

BATON ROUGE, La. Researchers at Louisiana State University said they have discovered unique antibiotic proteins in the blood of American alligators that can be used to kill a wide variety of deadly bacteria, stop the spread of infections and maybe even stop HIV, according to published reports.

According to the researchers, the alligators have unusually strong immune systems and unlike humans, can fight off different types of bacteria, viruses and fungi without ever having been exposed to them.

The researchers are sequencing the genetic makeup of alligator blood to figure out how to make chemicals based on it, the next step in developing new drugs.

Possible drugs include creams that could be used to treat ulcers of diabetes patients or prevent infections in amputees, and pills to fight internal infections and bacteria.

Researchers say they've determined that the proteins found in alligator blood can fight 23 types of bacteria, nearly three times as many as the proteins found in human blood.