Centipede Defense Against Microbes

House Centipede

Centipedes live and hunt in decaying organic matter, a substrate teeming with bacteria, fungi and other potentially harmful microorganisms. The Brazilian centipede, Scolopendra viridicornis is known to have medicinal properties. The centipedes are dried and the powder used for a variety of treatments.

Chaparro and da Silva* investigated Scolopendra viridicornis extracts and identified a novel peptide, lacrain. Interesting properties include antibiotic activity against gram negative bacteria only. Lacrain had no effect on human erythrocytes making it a candidate or lead chemical for medical uses as a bactericide. Centipedes are an under explored group that may yield new biomaterials of economic and medical importance.

* E. Chaparro & P.I. da Silva Junior. Lacrain: the first antimicrobial peptide from the body extract of the Brazilian centipede Scolopendra viridicornis. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2016.05.015

About jjneal

Jonathan Neal is a retired Associate Professor of Entomology at Purdue University and author of the textbook, Living With Insects (2010). This blog is a forum to communicate about the intersection of insects with people and policy. This is a personal blog. The opinions and materials posted here are those of the author and are in no way connected with those of my employer.

View all posts by jjneal →

1 Response to Centipede Defense Against Microbes

Pingback: Centipede Defense Against Microbes – Entomo Planet