Discovery and development of direct Xa inhibitors Xa was identified as a promising target for the development of new anticoagulants in the early 1980s. In 1987 the first factor Xa inhibitor, the naturally occurring compound antistasin, was isolated from the salivary glands of the Mexican leech "Haementeria officinalis". Antistasin is a polypeptide and a potent Xa inhibitor. In 1990 another naturally occurring Xa inhibitor was isolated, tick anticoagulant peptide (TAP) from extracts of the tick "Ornithodoros moubata". TAP and antistasin were used to estimate factor Xa as a drug target. Blood coagulation is a complex process by which the blood forms clots. It is an essential part
Salivary gland anterior to the submandibular glands. The secretion produced is mainly mucous in nature; however, it is categorized as a mixed gland. Unlike the other two major glands, the ductal system of the sublingual glands does not have intercalated ducts and usually does not have striated ducts either, so saliva exits directly from 8-20 excretory ducts known as the Rivinus ducts. Approximately 5% of saliva entering the oral cavity comes from these glands. There are 800 to 1,000 minor salivary glands located throughout the oral cavity within the submucosa of the oral mucosa in the tissue of the buccal, labial, and