Danish scientists from the University of Copenhagen have developed a cheap, fast and safe method to synthesize the substance celastrol, which is used in weight loss drugs. Previously, this compound was obtained from a rare and highly poisonous plant found in East Asia. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Chemistry (NatChem).
Experiments on mice showed that taking celastrol slowed weight gain by 45%. The human body reacts to matter in a similar way. Cestarol reactivates the body’s sensitivity to leptin, a hormone that causes the body to burn more calories and therefore regulate weight.
Until recently, celastrol was isolated from Tripterygium or Wilford’s Tripterygium, a vine that grows in China, Japan and Korea. This plant has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine, but its use has been associated with risks due to the poison it contains. In China, the three-winged plant is called the vine of God and it is believed that the person who eats it can walk a maximum of seven steps before losing his life. Additionally, tripterygium often grows in inaccessible mountainous regions, making it difficult to collect.
To create synthetic celastrol, scientists inserted the necessary genes and enzymes into a tank of normal yeast. Single-celled fungi served as the host organism. The process took about a week. The result was a pure compound devoid of toxic tripterygium impurities.
According to the researchers, the technology could also be used to produce other drugs currently synthesized from petrochemicals.
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