A new antibiotic with antifungal properties was discovered in Costa Rica by investigators of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), Harvard University and Wisconsin University.

The investigation was conducted in the biological station La Selva in Sarapiquí, Heredia and the name given to this new molecule “Selvamicin” actually makes reference to this. La Selva receives close to 300 investigators every year and develops between 125 and 150 projects yearly.

Selvamicin has the ability to inhibit the growth of the Candida Albicans fungus, a fungus known to affect humans. Candida can affect the mouth, vagina, intestine or skin of human beings, having the potential to cause abdominal symptoms such as bad digestion, food intolerance, diarrhea, and also irritability, memory loss, headaches and depression.

The Selvamicin was identified from a bacterium associated to ants of the Apterostigma genus; the ants cultivate fungus to feed from it, the fungus is attacked by different parasites, but the bacteria protect the ants’ nests against fungal pathogens, it works as an antifungal and antibiotic, allowing the ants to feed from the fungus. The investigation, published earlier this week in the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America) magazine, states “Selvamicin is an atypical member of a clinically important class of antifungal agents (nystatin A1 and amphotericin B, but it has several distinctive structural features), and it appears to have both better therapeutic properties and a different mechanism of action”. Both nystatin A1 and amphotericin B, are part of the essential list of medicines of the World Health Organization, but they both have some characteristics that are not beneficial to humans, such as a high toxicity; which is why scientist seek other alternatives to replace them.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Costa Rica, Dr. Fernando Garcia said “the resistance to anti-fungal drugs is a global public health problem, and the search for new molecules with these properties is essential and urgent”; and added “the discovery came from one of the biggest advantages that our country has: its biodiversity”.

Ethan van Arnam, investigator of Harvard Univesity commented “the Selvamicin is a fascinating molecule with potential as an antifungal therapeutically agent. In our work in the Faculty of Medicine of Harvard, we were intrigued by the unusual chemical structure of this molecule and its ability to kill fungus that cause serious infections in humans; this discovery reminds us that the ecological richness of the tropical forests of Costa Rica has a lot to teach us about medicine and science”.

This is just the beginning of many more years of research, in which scientists will need to test its antibiotic effect, toxicity, security, dosage and how it acts in the human body; still its a great discovery which could result in a new and better solution to a health problem.