EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Hirudin is the principal anticoagulant of the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis). Though long known in its natural form, this is now produced by recombinant DNA techniques and characterized by a high affinity for thrombin, whether it is free in the plasma or absorbed onto the fibrin clot.

Detailed explanation-2: -The most potent known natural thrombin inhibitor from blood-sucking leeches ( Hirudo medicinalis), hirudin has served as a standard for designing the natural coagulation inhibitors as an anticoagulant drug.

Detailed explanation-3: -Leeches produce an enzyme in their saliva called hirudin. Hirudin is a powerful anticoagulant.

Detailed explanation-4: -Different from other anticoagulant drugs such as heparin and sodium citrate, hirudin inhibits the activity of thrombin without the cofactor antithrombin III (Dodt et al., 1985) and combines with thrombin at the molar ratio of 1 ∶1.

Detailed explanation-5: -One example of the value of traditional knowledge is the development of the recombinant pharmaceutical protein hirudin, a potent anticoagulant derived from the saliva of leeches (Hirudo medicinalis).