2008年9月25日星期四

Teckchong188的水蛭天地

Eco-Leech Farm

http://eco-leech.blogspot.com/









迫不及待的想要和大家分享我的水蛭养殖场。。

以下是我小小的心得:-

原来水蛭成长好快哦。。
很难想象当初买回来时几千只挤在一个小小的糖果罐里!
现在一只只都比火柴棒长了 (当初连半只火柴都不到)


原来水蛭不会乱乱爬出来。。

当初还很担心水蛭会爬出来,想尽了很多方法想要防止水蛭爬出来,结果水蛭在水里住得很开心,
根本不想离开水面。。

原来水蛭没有想象中那么贪吃
当初以为膳鱼一放下去,水蛭会一窝蜂的游过来吸血,结果不是那样的。。大概只有几十只游过来吸,其他的都原地不懂,可能它们等我离开后才行动吧!

2008年9月22日星期一

A lesson in leeches

After a long lay-off, leeches are back in business.

Looking like black ribbons, the leeches swim with a serpentine movement in a plastic tank full of water. The people at Artsoulist Agrotech Sdn Bhd do a brisk business of exporting farm-raised leeches to the UK for medical purposes.

Leeches were once the bright stars of an ancient medical practice when bloodletting was all the rage.

The Egyptians used them, as did the Greeks and Indians, and much later medieval Europe. Physicians prescribed leeches for everything, from headaches to obesity, eye disorders to brain congestion, even mental illness!

Special suckers: A leech hoovering up someone’s blood.

They went out of fashion in the 1960s – but not for long.

Leeches started making a comeback in the West in the 1980s, with the advent of microsurgery. They have become especially useful in plastic and reconstructive surgery for their ability to suck up excess blood and prevent blood clots, thereby helping to keep tissues alive.

For the sake of a better story, I volunteer to “host” a leech, and manage to persuade the people at Artsoulist to let me have one to experience for myself the medieval practice of bloodletting.

I lift the lid and poke at one. The creature feels wet and cool, like a chilled strand of fettuccine. Hardwired to be repulsed by anything that writhes, I quickly retract my finger.

Leeches, by virtue of being slimy and wriggly, are high on my “icky” list, but I psyche myself to donate a tablespoon or two of blood to one lucky leech.

“Leeches are contortionists,” says Artsoulist Agrotech executive director, Asmadi Awang, 28.

“They can stretch out till they are as slender as a toothpick,” he explains, indicating that it’s OK to tug on a leech that has stubbornly gripped onto the side of the tank.

The thing is, I once accidentally “broke” an earthworm. I was terribly upset and took the pieces to a neighbour who was a nurse and insisted she put the worm back together again with a band-aid.

Poor woman. Poor worm.

So I shift my attention towards another and fish a nice, hungry-looking one out of the water and put it onto my arm.

The leech, thrilled that it’s in for an early lunch, humps along, its back arched like a cat on the prowl.

Reaching the back of my palm, Lenny – already I have named it! – brushes its head against my skin, its 300 microscopic teeth sawing through my flesh.

I read somewhere that the leech’s saliva anaesthetises the wound area, dilates the blood vessels to increase blood flow and prevents the blood from clotting. The anaesthetic in the leech’s saliva explains why I only feel the slightest prick.

“Leeches can consume between five and 20ml of blood – 10 times their body weight in a single feeding. After two to four hours, the leech will drop off,” explains Asmadi.

Othman Ghouse rears leeches for export to England.

“The use of these medicinal leeches is not widespread in Malaysia, as not much research has been done. A local university is currently conducting a study, but it is still at the teething stage,” he adds.

With Lenny on my hand, I head to Malacca for my next stop – a leech farm.

Getting bitten by these medicinal leeches is an occupational hazard for Othman Ghouse, 43. He raises the Hirudo medicinalis by the thousands. The Hirudo medicinalis was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in June 2004 as a “medical device”.

Othman and his partner were one of the 100 outfits selected by Artsoulist Agrotech to participate in a leech breeding programme and awarded RM50,000 for capital.

“My partner and I started this project in September 2007,” says Othman.

I crouch gingerly next to one of the six ponds for a closer look. On one side of the 18m x 6m pond, water lilies grow in abundance.

“We plant the water lilies as it provides food and shelter for the leeches,” says Othman.

I stir the clear water with my hand, and soon a dozen or so leeches start to swim towards me like piranhas. Before they get too close, I quickly yank my hand out. Hah! But in my haste and excitement, I almost fall head first into the sandy bottom . . . and then they would have had the last laugh.

While most of us stay clear of these slimy bloodsuckers, there are those who seek them out stealthily. Othman tells me intruders have broken into a few leech farms up north in Kedah and Perak.

“They can fetch up to RM60 a kilogramme, so as precaution, I recently installed fencing all around,” he says.

“Rearing leeches caught my attention because it’s something new,” says Othman.

Isolated in a corner of the farm is a smaller cement pond. I peer inside and see ripples forming on the surface of the murky water. I can’t make out what’s swimming underneath, until I spot a bucketful of catfish next to it.

“So you rear catfish too?” I ask.

“No, I use the pond to store market-bought catfish that I feed to the leeches,” explains Othman.

He demonstrates by stuffing two squirming catfish into a wire cage, and dunks them into one of the ponds, using a pumping motion to agitate the water. Within minutes, the once alive and squirming catfish have been bled to death by 30 or so leeches.

I tell Othman I think it would be more humane if the catfish were let loose into the pond, then they would at least have a fighting chance and the leeches would have to work their suckers off for their meal.

“If the fish carcass floats around in the pond, it might contaminate the water. It’s easier to remove the carcass by placing the fish in a cage,” Othman says.

“For now, I’m going to concentrate on breeding leeches only. They’re simple to rear compared to fish and prawn. We just have to maintain the condition of the pond so it’s similar to padi fields and swamps. We do not have to change the water, and feeding cost is minimal. On top of that, a leech breeds four times in its lifecycle,” he adds.

If farming leeches is so easy, then why are medicinal leeches raised in sterile, laboratory conditions in Britain? I ask Asmadi later.

Hirudo medicinalis is native to South-East Asia and Europe. The leeches are raised in tanks in the UK to replicate its native living condition. Researchers from a university in the UK who have studied leeches farmed in Malaysia found that our leeches contain a potent enzyme that is not available in leeches raised in the UK. They credit that to the condition of our soil,” he replies.

Feeding frenzy.

A trip to and from Malacca and three episodes of Prison Break later, Lenny has grown from a skinny little thing to a big round one filled with blood. But still he isn’t done with me yet. A friend offers to burn him off with a lit cigarette, but I refuse.

“Eight hours! It’s been way to long,” Asmadi tells me when I ring him up.

“Push the anterior sucker aside using your fingernail and then do the same with the posterior sucker to remove it. Try not to let the leech reattach itself,” he advises.

My squeamish threshold being quite low, I decide to try a less hands-on approach. I remember Asmadi telling me leeches should be kept in purified water, so I grab a bottle of mineral water and pour a little over the leech. Thank God, it works! The leech writhes and releases its jaw, dropping into the cookie jar I hold open beneath it.

Wiping off the traces of blood on my hand reveals a Y-shaped imprint, much like a Mercedes Benz emblem. I soak some tobacco in water and dab it onto the wound (a jungle survival tip), before sealing it with gauze and plaster.

As Asmadi warned me, the wound, infused with the leech’s anti-clogging enzyme continues to bleed for the next 10 hours.

“Used leeches are like syringes that can walk. In hospitals, after a single use, they are carefully disposed off by dipping them in alcohol to stop diseases carried in the blood like hepatitis A and AIDS from spreading,” reveals Asmadi.

I wonder if the animal rights activists are outraged, so I log onto the PETA web site. Oddly enough, there isn’t a single mention of medicinal leeches on their website, nor is there a photo of Alicia Silverstone standing naked in a swamp covered in leeches.

But we have a bond, Lenny and I, so I can’t bring myself to terminate him. He now lives in an aquarium on a table next to my bed. That should keep my sister out of my room.


http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/2/23/lifefocus/20185761&sec=lifefocus

2008年9月15日星期一

15/09/08





在第二次喂养时,晚上将泥鳅装进老鼠笼,然后放下桶,隔天中午才拿上来,发觉水蛭都没再附在泥鳅身上了,这样也方便了我,听我的“师傅”说,泥鳅死后在12个小时中就必须拿出,不然会发臭。
自从喂养了两次,发现有明显的长大了,突然突发奇想,天天喂养,不就长得更快,反正泥鳅下水后,隔天肯定会死且浮上来,不如不用装进老鼠笼,直接放桶。
有了这个奇想,我又买了3只泥鳅,晚上时放下桶内,隔天中午去看是,一只泥鳅死了,另外两只还活生生,我拿掉死泥鳅,以为另外两只也是不久人事了,晚上去看的时候,发现问题了,我变成在养泥鳅了,水蛭都成了泥鳅的美食了!于是快拿网来捉泥鳅,可是泥鳅聪明,把水弄得浑浊了,我看不到也捉不到,后来放弃了,再给水蛭1天时间来战泥鳅。第3天,泥鳅依然活着。。。下午时,再去看,终于给我捉到了,都关到老鼠笼,再放回桶。第4天中午,泥鳅归天了。

之前,“师傅”曾说,不要用老鼠笼,因为会生锈且会影响水蛭繁殖,最好用PVC管,我才会有如此的奇想。

第 1 张照片,最近水蛭们都互相堆在一起,之前都没有的情形,“师傅”说有些水蛭在交配。

第 2,3照片,自从喂养几次后,水比之前浑浊了,到目前为止也没怎么影响水蛭。

养了差不多两个星期了,都没又打气装置,水蛭也是活的好好地。

2008年9月11日星期四

11/09/08



11/09/08,已经第11天了,喂养了两次,6/09(六)和8/09(一),感觉好像有长大了。
才11天就明显的长大,那么不用到半年不就可以收成了?如果每天都喂养,是不是长得更快??

2008年9月9日星期二

Hirudin supplier


Hirudin

CAS #:

Molecular formula:

Molecular weight:

Formulation:

Purity:

113274-56-9

C66H93N13O25

1468.53

White fine powder

98


Hirudin is a naturally occurring peptide in the salivary glands of medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) that has a blood anticoagulant property. This is fundamental for the leeches’ alimentary habit of hematophagy, since it keeps the blood flowing after the initial phlebotomy performed by the worm on the host’s skin.A key event in the final stages of blood coagulation is the convertion of fibrinogen into fibrin by the serine protease enzyme thrombin.[4] Thrombin is produced from prothrombin, by the action of an enzyme, prothrombinase, in the final states of coagulation. Fibrin is then cross linked by factor XIII to form a blood clot. The principal inhibitor of thrombin in normal blood circulation is antithrombin III.[3] Similar to antithrombin III, the anticoagulatant activity of hirudin is based on its ability to inhibit the pro-coagulant activity of thrombin.Hirudin is the most potent natural inhibitor of thrombin. Unlike antithrombin III hirudin binds to and inhibits only the activity of thrombin forms with a specific activity against fibrinogen.[3] Therefore, hirudin prevents or dissolves the formation of clots and thrombi (i.e. it has a thrombolytic activity), and has therapeutic value in blood coagulation disorders, in the treatment of skin hematomas and of superficial varicose veins, either as an injectable or a topical application cream. In some aspects, hirudin has advantages over more commonly used anticoagulants and thrombolytics, such as heparin, as it does not interfere with the biological activity of other serum proteins and can also act on complexed thrombin.


分子结构:



功效:增加心肌营养性血流量,降血脂,水蛭素不单单是保留原有的活血化瘀、祛腐生新的功效,具有非凡的渗透性,具有极强的改善微循、促进新陈代谢的作用。是天然的营养品。是目前为止发现的治疗与营养双重功效的天然药品。

重組水蛭素

中文名稱】:重組水蛭素

【英文名稱】:null

【類別】:血液系統藥

【說明】:【適應症】

     可用於彌漫性血管內凝血(DIC)、手術後血栓形成、體外迴圈、血管成形術、深靜脈血栓形成等的抗血栓治療。

     【規格】 針劑。

神奇的水蛭素

●欧洲人使用水蛭素始于100多年前,当时西方人认为人体失调和发热的症状是由于血液过多引起的,因而使用日本医蛭(Hirud nipponia)放血。

●1884年,英国威尔士国家医学院的海克拉夫特(Huaycraft)博士首先发现医蛭咽部具有抗热的水溶性抗凝血物质。

●1904年,英国科学家雅各比(Jacoby)成功地把这种抗凝血有效成分分离出来,并命名为“水蛭素(Hirudin)”。

●1955年,德国的马克沃德特(Markwardt)从医蛭头部分离出水蛭素纯品,从此科学家们开始进行水蛭素基础生化和药理学的研究。

●20世纪60年代完成了水蛭素的氨基酸序列分析;70年代确定了肽链的组成和一级结构;80年代完成了二级和三级结构的分析,并对药理学特性进行了广泛研究。1986年以后国外利用基因工程技术生产了重组水蛭素;1997年重组水蛭素在德国上市。

●我国从20世纪80年代末就对重组水蛭素的研究投入了大量的人力和物力,但到目前为止,国内尚未有重组水蛭素上市。其主要原因就是可能引起出血这个难以克服的副作用,因此,重组水蛭素的开发应用受到了限制。

二、天然水蛭素的化学结构和性质

水蛭素是从吸血水蛭(如菲牛蛭Poecilobdella manillensis、日本医蛭Hirudo nipponia等)唾液腺及其所分泌的唾液中提取的一种主要有效生物活性物质。 它是由65个或66个氨基酸残基组成的单链多肽,分子量为7000,不含精氨酸,甲硫氨酸和色氨酸。水蛭素干物质为灰色或白色小片状或粉末,易溶于水,不 溶于乙醇和丙酮,水溶液显酸性。在干燥状态下稳定,在水溶液中室温可保存6个月,加热至80℃,15分钟不被破坏。

水蛭是我国传统中药,两千年前《神农本草经》中就有记载,中医认为它有破血、逐瘀、通经的疗效,主要用于治疗瘤症、痞块、血瘀、闭经和跌打损伤,西方也常 用水蛭吸血以治疗某些疾病。从水蛭及其唾液腺中已提取出多种活性成分,水蛭素是其中活性最显著并且研究的最多的一种成分,它是由65 一66个氨基酸组成的小分子蛋白质(多肽)。水蛭素对凝血酶有极强的抑制作用,是迄今为止世界上所发现的已知物质中最强的天然凝血酶物质。动物试验与临床 研究表明,水蛭素能高效抗凝血/抗血栓形成以及防止凝血酶催化的凝血因子活化和血小板反应等进一步血瘀现象,此外,它还能抑制凝血酶诱导的成纤维细胞的增 殖和凝血酶对内皮细胞的刺激。与肝素相比,它不仅用量少,不会引起出血,也不依赖于内源性辅助因子;而肝素由有引起出血的危险,在弥漫性血管内凝血的发病 过程中抗凝血酶往往减少,这将限制肝素的疗效, 采用水蛭素会有较好的效果。

水蛭素是一类很有前途的抗凝化瘀药物,它可用于治疗各种血栓疾病,尤其是静脉血栓和弥漫性血管内凝血的治疗;也可用于外科手术后预防动脉血栓的形成,预防 溶解 血栓后或血管再造后血栓的形成;改善体外血液循环和血液透吸过程,在显微外科手术中常因为吻合处血管栓塞而导致失败,采用水蛭素可促进伤口愈合。研究表 明,水蛭素在肿瘤治疗中也能发挥作用,它能防止肿瘤细胞的转移,已证明有效的肿瘤如纤维肉瘤、骨肉瘤、血管肉瘤、黑素瘤、淋巴瘤和白血病细胞等。水蛭素配 合化学治疗和放射治疗,由于促进肿瘤中的血流而增强疗效。

动物性试验和临床研究证明,静脉和皮下注射水蛭素均无明显副作用,无论急性、亚急性的毒性试验,对血压、心率、血相、出血时间和血液化学成分均不受影响, 呼吸系统也没有影响,无过敏反应,一般无特异抗体发现。半致死剂量LD50>50mg/kg,远大于治疗所用的剂量(lmg/kg)。此外,水蛭素可以 口服,这给用药带来很大方便。水蛭素比较稳定,胰蛋白酶并不破坏其活性,而且水蛭素的某些水解片段仍有抑制凝血酶的作用,这就可以解释为何服中药水蛭提取 液仍然有疗效的原理。

由于水蛭具有重要开发价值,而水蛭来源有限, 故国内外医药界均着重研究通过基因工程取得重组水蛭素。1986年后,重组水蛭素已在大肠杆菌和胶木菌中分别表达成功。与天然水蛭素相比,重组水蛭素在 63位氨基酸上未硫酸酯化,活性略化,其性质基本相同。在治疗的剂量下静脉注射无毒副反应。现国外一些大的生物技术公司已进入多方面的临床研究。有关水蛭 素类多肽的专利,每年公布的数量至少在十多项以上,包括水蛭素类似的多肽、活性水解产物、剂型改造、生产工艺、检测方法、临床治疗的疾病等, 研究论文每年在数十篇以上。估计不久重组水蛭素类多肽药物将会正式用于临床。

近年来在我国以水蛭为主要成分的中成药已有多种,如脑血康口服液、抗血栓片、活血通胶囊,其产值达数千万元。含水蛭的新药也在不断研究推出。利用基因工程 生产重组水蛭素类多肽药物,以取代水蛭和抗凝化瘀药的添加成分,这在近期内就可实现。作为注射剂用于心血管系统疾病和肿瘤治疗药物, 则还需进一步的临床研究。毋庸置疑,重组水蛭素类多肽药物的研制将会带来巨大的社会效益和经济效益。

三、天然水蛭素的功效

天然水蛭素是迄今为止世界上所发现的已知物质中最强的天然抗凝血酶物质,它能高效抗凝血、抗血栓形成,对人类心脑血管疾病尤其是血栓性疾病等有独特的疗效,其防治效果远比目前临床上用于治疗血栓性疾病的常用抗凝药物—肝素要好,其原因是天然水蛭素具有以下优点:
(1)天然水蛭素抑制凝血酶的反应不需要抗凝血酶Ⅱ(AT-Ⅱ)作为辅助因子,使其抗凝作用与量效关系更吻合而且可在缺乏抗凝血酶Ⅱ的病人(如弥漫性血管内凝血)中使用;
(2)肝素不能灭活结合于血栓上的凝血酶,而天然水蛭素则对循环中的和结合于血栓的凝血酶都可疑抑制;
(3)肝素会被激活的血小板释放的血小板因子4(PTF4)或富含组氨酸的糖蛋白等结合,而天然水蛭素则不受这些因素的影响;
(4)肝素用于抗血栓治疗,出血副作用较大,而天然水蛭素用于抗血栓治疗,出血副作用较小,且无过敏反应和免疫原性,无毒反应。

同时,水蛭素还可直接扩张血管,降低血液粘度,促进血液循环,加快血流速度,减少血管阻力,降低血小板凝集性;降低血脂,减少血管壁脂质的沉积,此外,还具有抗炎、抗肿瘤和免疫抑制作用。

综上所述,天然水蛭素在血管内起到一个“清道夫”的作用(即清除血液中多余的血脂、血栓等“血垢”)。

http://www.bokee.net/bloggermodule/blog_viewblog.do?id=1085993

2008年9月6日星期六

06/09/08 尝试喂养




今天特地跑去买了两只淡水泥鳅,才花 RM 1.96。1kg RM 4.90。
大约 早上10点多,将两只泥鳅放入老鼠笼,然后放到桶内,本要拍下当时的情景,相机突然没电,只好作罢。刚放到桶内,水蛭没想象中那样马上蜂拥的涌到泥鳅的身上,而是渐渐地靠过来。后来我去忙我的工作了。
大约下午三点多,我的伙伴来电说泥鳅死了,要我想办法把泥鳅弄上桶来。
约五点多,我去看看,发觉泥鳅原本黑身都变了白身,且僵硬了。我的伙伴对我说,之前泥鳅满身都沾满了水蛭,现在都散去了,只剩下几只还附在泥鳅身上。在想要怎么去掉水蛭,于是将老鼠笼挂起且靠近水面,让水蛭自己爬下去,开始有几只会自己爬下去,剩下几只死硬派的,等了好久就是没打算下水,只好来硬的,用树枝不行,就直接用手来了,好不容易才都去除掉。有一只躲在泥鳅口内,怎么弄就是不出来,最后只好放弃它了,和死泥鳅一起丢了。
我在想将来每次都这样弄就够力了~!


2008年9月5日星期五

05/09/08


05/09/08。 今天将桶移到屋檐下,惊动水蛭们,都浮出水面来了,还好不会蜂拥的爬出桶来,有几只尝试爬上桶来,都被我弄下水,这网的设置,在这一般的情况下,也无作用,都给水蛭们当娱乐场所了(钻进钻出)。
放了水草,水蛭们马上都的靠过来了,都附在草根。

04/09/08





04/08/09 拍摄,水蛭都很安定的在桶畅游。

2008年9月2日星期二

错误DIY


那天自己动手做的网,还以为网洞够小了,可是水蛭也懂得收缩身体,还是被缵出来。里面靠桶的网也没功用。这是从报纸自学来得,看来是错误了。

终于来了

9月1日傍晚,等了多天的水蛭苗终于送来了,那天因为是假期,档口忙着,抽不出身去迎接,只好由我的伙伴去负责。前几天一直找不到水草,而且桶的装置也没完全预备好,本要求过几天才送来,但由于已经包装了,只好作罢。
在放进桶时,出了点状况,听说水蛭突然蜂拥的爬出桶来,之前做的网,都失去功用了,吓坏当场的人!因我在档口忙没在现场,事后听我的伙伴描述当时的情景,真是好笑又恐怖。
放苗的人后来对我说是水蛭刚放桶会比较活跃,但我想这未免太太太活跃了吧?
我想可能是这些原因。
1。当天送来时,刚下过雨,桶也装着雨水,水蛭放桶时,一时适应不了水的温度,受到了惊吓。
2。水蛭苗送来前是装在一个糖果罐,五,六百多只的水蛭都装载一个小罐,当突然被释放了,突然解放压迫感,而受到惊吓,从而蜂拥的往桶外爬。

是不是这原因,希望有识之士可以指点。

9月2日,第二天,我去看望我的水蛭宝宝了,它们都乖乖地,有的在畅游,有的在玩泥沙,有在漫步,偶尔在桶边冒出水面,就是没发现有水蛭爬上桶来。难以想象昨天的水蛭大军逃生记。