Moai statues, on Easter Island, Chile
A well-known anti-aging drug has an old but more remote origin than we think.
Rapamicin has been presented with one of the most promising ingredients of today regarding living longer.
It is better known for its role in organ transplants, helping patients to avoid rejections by mitigating the natural response of the immune system, recalls. However, new evidence that actually has the potential to become a Universal anti-aging drug.
But what few know is its origin. And it’s quite curious. THE rapamicinknown clinicalemtne as Sirolimus, first appeared in 1964, when a scientific expedition called Medical Expedition to Easter Island It was sent from Canada to the mysterious Pacific Island known as Rapa NUI – or Easter Island.
And no, the goal was not to study the iconic Moai statues of the island, but to investigate their biosphere.
Among the discoveries was then a isolated bacteria in soil samples, call Streptomyces hygroscopicus.
It was found that it produced several chemical compounds or enzymes, including one that was first isolated in 1972: no less than rapamicin, which had antibacterial and antifungal properties. An important step in the pharmaceutical industry brought from one of the most remote places on planet Earth.
“I would like the scientific community to return something in return,” the scientist said in May Ted Powers. “The important thing is to start a dialogue, to hear what the people Rapa hopes hope to reach and work together with them,” he added.
