pixabaySnake venom is a very toxic saliva secreted by a snake.
According to Dr Zoltan Takacs"Venom toxins are the only molecules on Earth explicitly selected by evolution to take a life in less than one minute
This saliva also has a highly metabolizing power which helps the snake to neutralize any substances when engulfed. It does this through the help of zootoxin that are found to be one of the constituent of saliva.
This venom is found to be stored temporary in the alveoli where it is later being moved to the duct that convey it to the tubular fangs before it's ejection.
Though snake venom can be highly toxic to human but remember that, behind every evil lies the good.
In today's topic we will be talking on pharmacological important of snake venom,its positive effect as an anticoagulant and many others.
Let's begin with a little history
Venom is known to come from reptiles like snake,fish,insect, spider and many others. The main important functions of venom is to kill, digest prey or self defense during any attack by other organisms.
Snake venom has been into existence for more than one thousand years ago, where it is being use traditionally to cure setting ailment like leprosy and smallpox.
Aside that, Albert calmette caved out a way we can be producing antivenom by injecting a little doses of venom into other animals in order to harvest the antibody produced against the injected venom. This will enable getting treatment whenever someone is being bitten by a snake.
Do u know that cobra venom has found to posses analgesic factor which seems to be non addictive unlike morphine that is known to be addictive.
Drugs gotten from snake venom
It may really be looking so weird talking about snake venom. but do you know that some of the drugs which we take on daily bases are been produced using the venom gotten from snakes.
Take for instance a drug called captopril.
A drug produced using snake venom. This drug is designed to help in the management of high blood pressure. It does this by breaking down any barrier obstructing the vein to enable adequate blood supply to the whole parts of the body including the heart and kidney.
This drug functions by inhibiting the conversion of angiotensin 1 to angiotensin 2. Also this drug helps to prevent vasoconstriction by promoting vasodilation to enable fluent flow of blood to other parts of the body.
If you have seen where some persons are being bitten by snakes. You will discover that blood coming out as a result of the snake bite is always difficult to stop if adequate measures are not taken. This is because, snake venom posses an anticoagulating factor which prevents blood from clotting whenever you are being bitten by snakes.
Due to this characteristics possessed by snake venom. Some drugs are then produced out of this venom to enable blood from clotting. This kind of drugs are termed antiplatelet drugs.
Examples of them are Tirofiban and Eptifibatide. This drugs act similarly as an anticoagulant by preventing the clotting of blood.
Haven known this, do you know that snake venom is found to contain phospholipase type A2. This phospholipase type A2 contains an anti cancer and antitumor constituent, which makes it powerful in the prevention of cancer and tumor.
Though we all have known snakes to have a detrimental effect when it bites human. Knowing the fact that 100,000 human dies world wide as a result of snake bite.
This adverse effect caused by snake bite have actually created awareness in knowing more about the snake venom and what it contains. As you can see in this article, snake is actually dangerous when bitten by any human but mind you that snake venom can also help in so many ways more especially in health sector.
conclusion
At this point, I must have made you to understand some of the importance of snake venom and how it can be of help in our society more especially in the field of medicine.
I will like to end this article by telling us that to everything that have bad side equally have the good part.