As if it isn’t already enough that just about everything is made in China, now they’ve started making blood, from rice.

Chinese scientists have developed a method to extract albumin, a protein found in human blood, from rice seeds. According to their published research, the protein is chemically and physically equivalent to blood-derived human serum albumin (HSA).

Traditionally, HSA is garnered from human blood donations and is often used for treating burns, traumatic shock and liver disease. However, with an annual demand of about 500 tons, shortages have been faced before, particularly in population heavy China.

The team responsible for the discovery consists of scientists at Wuhan University in China, and colleagues from the National Research Council of Canada and the Centre for Functional Genomics at the University at Albany in New York.

When they tested the rice-made protein in rats with liver cirrhosis, a common condition for which the human equivalent is often used, they found it produced similar outcomes to treatment with HSA.

The process first requires rice to be genetically modified to produce higher levels of HSA, which can then be extracted. Although it appears to have a low yield, only 2,75g of protein per kilogram of rice, it could have an enormous effect on the medical community. Not only could it seriously curb the ever-increasing threat of shortages, but could potentially put to rest concerns about spreading HIV and hepatitis as the protein typically comes from human blood.

Despite its life-saving potential, the study is not without its concerns including, the environmental effect of large-scale planting of genetically modified crops. It is also too early to determine the safety of using rice-derived proteins in animals and humans and more research is required.

[Source: The Australian]