Animal Insulin
The amino acid sequence for insulin is almost the same in different mammals. Porcine insulin has only a single amino acid variation from the human variety, and bovine insulin varies by three amino acids. Both are active on the human receptor with approximately the same strength. Prior to the introduction of biosynthetic human insulin, insulin derived from sharks was widely used in Japan. Even insulin from some species of fish may be effective in humans. Non-human insulins can cause allergic reactions in a tiny number of people, as can genetically engineered "human" insulin. This is usually caused by the preservatives used in the insulin rather than the insulin molecule itself. Biosynthetic "human" insulin has largely replaced animal insulin.
Read more about this topic: Insulin Analog
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