BLOOD PLASMA SOURCE TOBACCO PLANTS
March 1st, 2006
BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW Spanish scientific study has suggested a new alternative use for tobacco plants: generating a synthetic human serum albumin (HSA), a component of blood plasma used to treat dehydration, liver or kidney disease or haemorrhages. The current worldwide demand for HSA exceeds 500 tons per year, and almost all is sourced from blood donations, which are not always reliable. But now Universidad Pública Navarra study has claimed tobacco could provide a cheap alternative to HSA from blood plasma. The key is genetically modifying the tobacco plant, ...
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