(Belo Horizonte) Avec ses quinze centimètres, ses huit pattes velues et son venin mortel, l’araignée-banane ne semble à première vue pas être la meilleure amie de l’homme.
Mais des scientifiques brésiliens se sont inspirés de son venin pour développer une molécule synthétique pour un gel visant à lutter contre les troubles de l’érection.
« Il y a trente ans, un groupe de recherche a été créé pour étudier le venin de l’araignée-banane […] because patients bitten by this spider presented symptoms of priapism, a painful and prolonged erection,” Marcia Helena Borges, researcher at the Ezequiel Dias Foundation (Funed) in Belo Horizonte, explains to AFP.
The banana spider (phoneutria nigriventer), one of the most venomous species in the world, lives in South America and is so nicknamed because it is often found near banana plantations. But in Minas Gerais, a Brazilian state of which Belo Horizonte is the capital, it is found both in rural areas and in urban centers.
At Funed, a biologist delicately grabs one of these spiders with pliers and extracts a few drops of venom by stimulating its chelicerae, the sort of hooks with which it bites its victims.
Samples of the venom are then provided to a laboratory at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). “The venom is only used to know the properties of the molecules that cause priapism. We have created a synthetic molecule, much simpler and less toxic,” explains UFMG researcher Maria Elena de Lima.
The patent for this new molecule was purchased by the pharmaceutical company Biozeus, which intends to market a gel intended to correct erectile dysfunction.
Fight against cancer
With this kind of ointment which must be passed on the penis when an erection is desired, the effects are felt within a few minutes, says Maria Elena de Lima.
According to her, this research can also prove useful in the fight against prostate cancer because “many men refuse to undergo radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate) in the case of cancer, because it causes difficulty in erection”.
These disorders are due to the fact that the erectile nerves are damaged by the removal of the prostate.
The molecule inspired by the venom of the banana spider helps activate the production of nitric oxide, essential for erection because it promotes dilation of the vessels. It can be produced by the nerves, but also by other cells on which the gel acts, explains Maria Elena de Lima.
The second of the three phases of testing necessary for approval by the health authorities should begin soon. It will be used to measure the effects in patients who have undergone prostate removal and other volunteers.
“People must understand that we should not kill animals, even those that are venomous, because they are like a library of molecules that are still unknown,” argues the researcher.