Colourful antibiotics isolated from scorpion venom
Isolated benzoquinone has excellent activity against TB along with low toxicity in mice
Two compounds isolated from scorpion venom could be promising leads for new antibiotics, particularly against drug-resistant strains of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. But scorpions won’t have to be ‘milked’ to obtain the precious compounds for potential drugs – the team has synthesised them in the lab too.