Animal toxins: state of the art - perspectives in health and biotechnology

Abstract

This single-volume edition presents for the first time results of several studies with different perspectives on the real possibilities of the use of animal venoms and toxins in the biotechnology industry. Animal Toxins consists of 39 articles, signed by renowned experts of various nationalities. The state of the art in compounds derived from venoms of marine animals, spiders and scorpions, lizards, snakes, among others, are the focus of this publication which aims to meet scientists, students and university researchers, biotechnologists interested in toxicology as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Animal venoms and toxins have been selected over millions of years of evolution to act quickly and effectively on the victim body, which results in a massive repertoire of molecules able to bind to specific targets. The possibility of using these toxins in biotechnological processes means that these venoms and toxins are regarded as one of the most promising sources of bioactive natural compounds.

Combining multidimensional liquid chromatography and MALDI–TOF-MS for the fingerprint analysis of secreted peptides from the unexplored sea anemone species Phymanthus crucifer

“…Peptide toxin discovery has been traditionally approached by bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation and further characterization of bioactive molecules [1]. So far the number of peptides sequences reported is extremely inferior to the 20 million peptides [2] estimated for all animal venoms combined; therefore most of their chemical diversity remains uncharacterized [3].…”

An overview of Bothrops erythromelas venom

“…Venomous and non-venomous snakes are distributed worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical areas (1) . Envenoming is neglected in many countries, which makes it a public health concern (2) (3) (4) .…”

“…Envenoming is neglected in many countries, which makes it a public health concern (2) (3) (4) . Snake venoms are fascinating models for drug design (1) and their antidotes are still under development. As a result, research in this area has been in existence since the 19 th century (5) .…”

Universities and neglected diseases: it is not enough to have the knowledge, it must be applied

“…According to Warrel (1), "Snake venoms are rich in protein and peptide toxins that have specificity for a wide range of tissue receptors, making them clinically challenging and scientifically fascinating, especially for drug design". In 2009, Lima et al (3) dedicated an entire book to this subject, entitled Animal toxins: state of the art -perspectives in health and biotechnology. The authors discuss in several chapters the possible mechanisms and the probable uses of these molecules in the diagnosis and treatment of different diseases.…”