Every day we learn about a new discovery or study that makes us question everything we know about the human body. Now, scientists have managed to develop human heart tissue out of spinach leaves. Apparently, spinach is a superfood.
The spinach leaves have some physical proprieties that helped scientist develop human heart tissue out of them. These leaves have a network of veins. The network of veins is similar to the blood vessels because it goes through the leaves like blood vessels are spread throughout the body.
In order to create human heart tissue, researchers used these leafy veins. Tissue engineers from Massachusetts’s Worcester Polytechnic Institute were the ones that conducted this research. Their study was published in the journal Biomaterials.
They stripped the cells from the leaves. After that, the plant turned translucent. Finally, the researchers seeded human heart tissue in the gaps left behind by the cells. They observed that the human cells were able to beat for almost 3 weeks. Despite the fact that this is not the usual environment for heart tissue, they survived.
It is amazing to see how the human cells are designed to resist so much. Also, it is interesting how plants can help people in other ways than providing food and medicine. The tissue engineers mentioned that their “inspiration” came over lunch. When they studied the spinach leaves, they wanted to see if heart tissue can be developed with their help.
In previous studies, researchers have tried to solve a medical problem: the lack of donor organs. Many have tried to create artificial hearts, but these organs have a problem. The researchers mentioned that it is hard to get blood flow in the cells.
This is when the researchers used the spinach leaves. The scientists “borrowed” the leafy nerves from the spinach instead of creating tiny blood vessels. Cellulose was the material that was left behind after they cleared the cells of the spinach. This plant material is compatible with mammal tissue. Researchers then seeded the cellulose matrix with heart tissue. After only 5 days, the muscle cells started to beat.
Of course, researchers did not create a muscle out of the spinach. Also, they did not put blood in the nerves of the leaves, they put dye. Despite the fact that this is not an actual heart muscle, it could be the begging for a new way of making organs.
Image source: Wikipedia
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