Snake venom components and their applications in biomedicine

Abstract

Snake envenomation is a socio-medical problem of considerable magnitude. About 2.5 million people are bitten by snakes annually, more than 100,000 fatally. However, although bites can be deadly, snake venom is a natural biological resource that contains several components of potential therapeutic value. Venom has been used in the treatment of a variety of pathophysiological conditions in Ayurveda, homeopathy and folk medicine. With the advent of biotechnology, the efficacy of such treatments has been substantiated by purifying components of venom and delineating their therapeutic properties. This review will focus on certain snake venom components and their applications in health and disease.

In Vitro Cytotoxic and Proapoptotic Activities of Anatolian Macrovipera Lebetina Obtusa (Dwigubski, 1832) Crude Venom on Cultured K562 Human Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Cells.

“…Snake venom is one of the important sources of bioactive proteins and peptides with distinct pharmacological activities. 5,6 Snake venom is a complex mixture consisting of mainly proteins and peptides and rich in enzymes. 7 Composition of snake venoms vary at different levels, including inter/intra-specific, inter-genus, diet, age and sex-related variations.…”

“…7 A considerable number of bioactive proteins have been identified from snake venoms which have potential therapeutic value against various diseases such as cancer, bacterial and fungal infections, cardiovascular disorders (e.g., acute coronary syndrome) and arthritis. 5,6,[9][10][11][12][13][14] With a special focus on anticancer activity, various snake venoms and purified proteins (e.g., metalloprotease, disintegrin, PLA 2 , LAAO, CLP) have been shown to inhibit cancer progression in vitro and/or in vivo by affecting different cellular mechanisms, including apoptosis induction.…”

The Evaluation of Snake Bite Cases Applied to Emergency Department: 132 cases

“…[10,11] Toxins can cause diverse systemic effects, such as leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hypofibrinogenemia, bleeding disorders, proteinuria, and azotemia. [4,12,13] However, leukocytosis has been primarily reported as a laboratory finding.…”

In vitroandin vivogenotoxic evaluation ofBothrops moojenisnake venom

“…Despite their harmful effects, snake venoms represent an important source of bioactive molecules, contributing for the development of new therapeutic agents to be used in the treatment of envenomation and diseases such as cancer, thrombosis, and hypertension (Koh et al, 2006). Bothrops sp.…”