Read More: Experts say hantavirus is likely not the next COVID, and the twist is the specific reason it behaves differently even when headlines feel familiar<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nEven so, the work lands at a tense moment, as antimicrobial resistance already contributes to millions of deaths worldwide and pushes doctors toward older, harsher, or less reliable treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sting with a medical twist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The scorpion side of the work began with Diplocentrus melici, a species found in Veracruz. Lourival Domingos Possani Postay, working at the Institute of Biotechnology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), helped isolate two colorless molecules from its venom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These molecules are called benzoquinones<\/a>, a type of small chemical compound that is not made from amino acid chains like many venom toxins.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere is the curious part. When the molecules meet air, one turns blue and the other red, a color change that helped researchers work out their structures and then make them in the lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blue compound showed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, while the red one acted against Staphylococcus aureus, a common hospital-linked threat<\/a> that can cause skin infections, pneumonia, blood infection, and heart infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy tuberculosis matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tuberculosis is not an old problem that quietly went away. It spreads through the air, usually attacks the lungs, and can be deadly without proper treatment. In 2024, the World Health Organization<\/a> estimated that 10.7 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, and 1.23 million died from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDrug-resistant TB is especially troubling because the usual medicines may not work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rogelio Hern\u00e1ndez Pando, from the Salvador Zubir\u00e1n National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, tested the blue benzoquinone in mice with induced tuberculosis and found strong antibiotic activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/mexico-scorpion-venom-habanero-antibiotic-research-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
UNAM scientists are exploring new antibiotic pathways using scorpion-derived benzoquinones and habanero defensins to combat resistant pathogens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nRichard Zare at Stanford University also helped determine and synthesize the scorpion-derived molecules, strengthening the chemistry behind the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than one hospital threat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
After the TB work, the same blue compound was tested against Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that often worries hospitals because it can resist some of the last medicines doctors rely on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2025 study in The Journal of Antibiotics reported that the molecule killed drug-resistant strains of this pathogen and did not trigger resistance after repeated exposure in the experiment. That is not a guarantee in patients, but it is the kind of early signal antibiotic researchers look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does that matter to ordinary people? Because resistant infections are not just a hospital chart problem. They can mean longer stays, more expensive care, and, for families, a much scarier wait for a medicine that still works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From hot pepper to hospital infections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The habanero side sounds almost like kitchen folklore, but it is not about eating more hot sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A team led by Gerardo Corzo Burguete, in collaboration with Georgina Estrada Tapia of the Yucat\u00e1n Scientific Research Center, identified a peptide in habanero pepper called defensin J1-1. A peptide is a small chain of building blocks, and in plants, defensins help defend against microbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More: The way you cook beets can make a huge difference, and almost nobody is paying attention to it<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThe researchers developed a biotech process to produce a candidate called XisHar J1-1. First, they modified a bacterium so it would make the peptide, then grew it through submerged fermentation, a common industrial method for producing useful compounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purified peptide showed activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which the same global health agency includes among important drug-resistant pathogens<\/a>, along with Staphylococcus aureus and drug-resistant tuberculosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPromise with limits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere is a catch, and it matters. Estrada Tapia noted that the Pseudomonas tests did not use a resistant strain taken from patients, but a laboratory strain used to study antimicrobial peptides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In practical terms, that means the next tests must move closer to the real infections<\/a> doctors see every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe teams are also working through drug-development problems that rarely make splashy headlines. Molecules can break down inside the body, lose strength, or affect healthy cells, so researchers are exploring nanoparticles that could stabilize and protect the scorpion-derived compounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The patents in Mexico and South Africa are useful steps, but patents are not the same as approved medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The road to patients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Clinical trials are the next big gate. Possani Postay has said those trials will require significant funding and has called for support from a Mexican pharmaceutical company to help scale up production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist: \u201cHowever difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThat step is where many promising antibiotic ideas stall, not because the biology is dull, but because the path from lab bench to bedside is expensive and slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iv\u00e1n Arenas Sosa put the larger challenge plainly. \u201cThe problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has increased in recent years and will continue in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official report on this work has been published in Gaceta UNAM<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mexican researchers have turned two unlikely sources, scorpion venom and habanero pepper, into three experimental antibiotic candidates aimed at some … <\/p>\n
Here is the curious part. When the molecules meet air, one turns blue and the other red, a color change that helped researchers work out their structures and then make them in the lab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blue compound showed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, while the red one acted against Staphylococcus aureus, a common hospital-linked threat<\/a> that can cause skin infections, pneumonia, blood infection, and heart infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuberculosis is not an old problem that quietly went away. It spreads through the air, usually attacks the lungs, and can be deadly without proper treatment. In 2024, the World Health Organization<\/a> estimated that 10.7 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, and 1.23 million died from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug-resistant TB is especially troubling because the usual medicines may not work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rogelio Hern\u00e1ndez Pando, from the Salvador Zubir\u00e1n National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, tested the blue benzoquinone in mice with induced tuberculosis and found strong antibiotic activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Zare at Stanford University also helped determine and synthesize the scorpion-derived molecules, strengthening the chemistry behind the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the TB work, the same blue compound was tested against Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that often worries hospitals because it can resist some of the last medicines doctors rely on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2025 study in The Journal of Antibiotics reported that the molecule killed drug-resistant strains of this pathogen and did not trigger resistance after repeated exposure in the experiment. That is not a guarantee in patients, but it is the kind of early signal antibiotic researchers look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why does that matter to ordinary people? Because resistant infections are not just a hospital chart problem. They can mean longer stays, more expensive care, and, for families, a much scarier wait for a medicine that still works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The habanero side sounds almost like kitchen folklore, but it is not about eating more hot sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A team led by Gerardo Corzo Burguete, in collaboration with Georgina Estrada Tapia of the Yucat\u00e1n Scientific Research Center, identified a peptide in habanero pepper called defensin J1-1. A peptide is a small chain of building blocks, and in plants, defensins help defend against microbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers developed a biotech process to produce a candidate called XisHar J1-1. First, they modified a bacterium so it would make the peptide, then grew it through submerged fermentation, a common industrial method for producing useful compounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The purified peptide showed activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which the same global health agency includes among important drug-resistant pathogens<\/a>, along with Staphylococcus aureus and drug-resistant tuberculosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a catch, and it matters. Estrada Tapia noted that the Pseudomonas tests did not use a resistant strain taken from patients, but a laboratory strain used to study antimicrobial peptides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In practical terms, that means the next tests must move closer to the real infections<\/a> doctors see every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The teams are also working through drug-development problems that rarely make splashy headlines. Molecules can break down inside the body, lose strength, or affect healthy cells, so researchers are exploring nanoparticles that could stabilize and protect the scorpion-derived compounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The patents in Mexico and South Africa are useful steps, but patents are not the same as approved medicines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clinical trials are the next big gate. Possani Postay has said those trials will require significant funding and has called for support from a Mexican pharmaceutical company to help scale up production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That step is where many promising antibiotic ideas stall, not because the biology is dull, but because the path from lab bench to bedside is expensive and slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iv\u00e1n Arenas Sosa put the larger challenge plainly. \u201cThe problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has increased in recent years and will continue in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The official report on this work has been published in Gaceta UNAM<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mexican researchers have turned two unlikely sources, scorpion venom and habanero pepper, into three experimental antibiotic candidates aimed at some … <\/p>\nWhy tuberculosis matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
More than one hospital threat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From hot pepper to hospital infections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: The way you cook beets can make a huge difference, and almost nobody is paying attention to it<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Promise with limits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The road to patients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist: \u201cHowever difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n