Anti-Snake Venom Property of Medicinal Plants: A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Abstract

Snakebite is one of the major health issues posing considerable morbidity and mortality. According to an estimate of World Health Organization (WHO) (World health organization, 2021) approximately 5 million people are bitten by several species of snakes resulting in up to 2.5 million envenomation cases annually. The mainstay of treatment for envenomation is intravenous administration of anti-snake venom. Although antivenom neutralizes the systemic effects but it does not relieve the symptoms such as venom-induced hemorrhage, necrosis and nephrotoxicity. Moreover, the use of antivenoms is associated with hypersensitivity reactions including urticaria, anaphylaxis, or serum sickness due to their heterologous property. Furthermore, stringent storage conditions and narrow specificity of antivenoms limit their use in both developed as well as developing countries. In this context, researchers have been searching for natural products and plant extracts to explore their antivenom activity along with anti-myotoxic, anti-hemorrhagic and anti-inflammatory properties. Plant remedies may prove to be an effective alternate for antivenom sera with less adverse events and better tolerability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review of medicinal plants possessing anti-snake venom activities against certain species of snakes. The current review highlights the investigated plants with their phytochemical analysis to integrate the available information for future research and development of antivenom sera.

Evaluation of Neutralization Potential of Naja naja and Daboia russelii Snake Venom by Root Extract of Cyanthillium cinereum

“…Traditional healers generally use plant extracts, especially in tropical areas, to cure snakebite envenomation from abundant herbal sources. 41 Identifying the precise phytoconstituent responsible for a particular antisnake venom activity is the main challenge in the development of antivenom drugs made from plants.…”

“…11 ) is also a saturated fatty acid compound, and its enzyme kinetics proved that it inhibits PLA 2 in a competitive manner. 41 According to Gnanaselvan and Sivaraman, the hemolytic action of the cardiotoxins in the N. naja is inhibited by the molecule octasiloxane, a 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7,9,9,11,11,13,13,15,15-hexadecamethyl-an ester ( Fig. 12 ).…”

Effect of Seaweed-Derived Fucoidans from Undaria pinnatifida and Fucus vesiculosus on Coagulant, Proteolytic, and Phospholipase A2 Activities of Snake Bothrops jararaca, B. jararacussu, and B. neuwiedi Venom

“…Plants have been used as herbal medicines to treat SBE since ancient times. Currently, the literature reports many species of plants used in whole or in part with antivenom effects [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. On the other hand, research testing antivenom molecules derived from marine environments is rare.…”