Locust brains could thwart superbug plagues

Extracts from the brains of locusts and cockroaches can kill hospital superbugs. Work is under way to identify the active ingredients, which could ultimately result in the first antibiotics originating from insects.

Nine distinct chemical extracts from the locust brain killed Escherichia coli, which can cause food poisoning, and seven killed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the problematic superbug sweeping hospitals and communities throughout the western world.

Researchers screened brains, along with other tissues, for antibacterial activity on the grounds that the brain is the most vital organ for locusts to protect. "Without [the brain] they die, whereas they can survive losing limbs such as legs," says Simon Lee of the University of Nottingham, UK. "From the locust's point of view, it's important that the central nervous system is protected all the time against bacteria and other pathogens," he says. As he expected, only brain extracts were active.

Lee is currently conducting further analyses to identify the active components of the extracts, thought to be proteins because they stopped working when exposed to protein-degrading enzymes. He has also shown that the extracts don't harm human cells. "But we're a long way from these being active drugs," he says.