title: Insect natural products and processes: new treatments for human disease.
abstract: In this overview, some of the more significant recent developments in bioengineering natural products from insects with use or potential use in modern medicine are described, as well as in utilisation of insects as models for studying essential mammalian processes such as immune responses to pathogens. To date, insects have been relatively neglected as sources of modern drugs although they have provided valuable natural products, including honey and silk, for at least 4-7000 years, and have featured in folklore medicine for thousands of years. Particular examples of Insect Folk Medicines will briefly be described which have subsequently led through the application of molecular and bioengineering techniques to the development of bioactive compounds with great potential as pharmaceuticals in modern medicine. Insect products reviewed have been derived from honey, venom, silk, cantharidin, whole insect extracts, maggots, and blood-sucking arthropods. Drug activities detected include powerful antimicrobials against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and HIV, as well as anti-cancer, anti-angiogenesis and anti-coagulant factors and wound healing agents. Finally, the many problems in developing these insect products as human therapeutic drugs are considered and the possible solutions emerging to these problems are described.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bioquímica e Fisiologia de Insetos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Avenida Brasil 4365, Rio de Janeiro, 21045-900, RJ, Brazil. n.a.ratcliffe@swansea.ac.uk
authors.forename: Norman A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
authors.forename: Cicero B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Eloi S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Tariq M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Azambuja
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000032:analysis; D001180:Arthropod Venoms / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002193:Cantharidin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003646:Debridement; D055808:Drug Discovery; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006722:Honey; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000737:chemistry*; D007814:Larva; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D047011:Silk / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001180:Arthropod Venoms; D001688:Biological Products; D047011:Silk; D002193:Cantharidin