Polyamines: The Other Legacy of Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek

The idea of writing this short chapter is to highlight the enormous contributions that Leeuwenhoek made to science with the development of the microscope, an instrument that allowed him to make countless observations of diverse biological materials, the same were microorganisms, plant tissues, animal tissues, observations in body fluids such as blood, semen and others. He first observed crystals of spermine and other polyamines in human semen. Although he did not know it, we now know that these wonderful molecules regulate multiple functions in organisms and contribute to homeostasis. Polyamines have been studied in humans under conditions of health and disease. Reference is made here to its role related to pancreatic function in hyperglycemic conditions.