Australian scientists isolate green snot enzyme

Australian researchers have found a unique way to control the enzyme which causes damage during a heart attack and, less critically, is also responsible for turning snot green.

The enzyme myeloperoxidase goes to work when the immune system encounters foreign bacteria.

Dr Martin Rees says while it played a vital, and obvious, role in the nose, it could cause problems elsewhere in the body.



"It is a disgusting thought that you have this stuff in your arteries as well as your nose,'' Dr Rees, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, said. "The actual green stuff in snot is what we're talking about."

Dr Rees said once white blood cells see bacteria, they dump the enzyme on it to produce bleach.

"That's a major way that we get rid of bacteria, but in inflammatory conditions (like a heart attack) what happens is instead of being used to kill bacteria, it gets dumped in the wrong place.''