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One of the biggest challenges in public health is preventing the rise of superbugs,
relentless bacteria strains able to evade our attempts to destroy them.
And as more infectious diseases build resistance to medicines
that have historically been used to successfully fend them off,
some strains are even able to defy multiple types of antibiotics.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are one of the top ten greatest threats
to our health around the world, and the situation could get a lot worse.
So with a lot of our commonly used antibiotics becoming less effective
against a wider range of bacteria, we need to look for other options, and fast.
One way to develop more effective drugs is to turn to sources
we’ve never used before.
And that’s where some of the world’s most venomous snakes
might just come in handy.
Venomous snakes use their specialized fangs
to inject a powerful concoction into their prey.
This venom is a highly toxic mix of hundreds of molecules
used to subdue a meal before swallowing it whole, as well as help digest it.
But it turns out venom has powerful antimicrobial properties too.
This might serve to protect the snakes from infection if their preferred prey
carry parasites and bacteria that could otherwise harm them as they consume it.
Over the years, numerous antimicrobial agents have been discovered
in the venom for different species of snakes.
And some of these components have now been isolated from venom and tested
against common troublesome bacterial infections experienced by humans.
For example, King cobra venom is shown to be effective against E. coli,
as well as strains of staphylococcus and salmonella.
There are two main ways we treat bacterial infections:
either by stopping their growth, or disrupting their cell membranes.
In the case of snake venom, it appears numerous enzymes and certain protein
fragments use the cell membrane approach to kill the unwanted microbes,
releasing their internal fluids.
Since snake venom is such a complex mix of molecules,
this research is uncovering a broad selection of antimicrobial elements
for potential applications as medicine.
But there are big differences in the composition
and concentrations of proteins found between species.
And that means not all venoms are alike in terms of antimicrobial abilities.
In fact, different species might fight distinct microbes more effectively than others.
For example, Western diamondback rattlesnake venom also works well against
E. coli, but venom from a species of South American pit viper doesn’t.
So we may have our work cut out for us when it comes to figuring out
what venoms, or more specifically which of their isolated components,
to use against which bacteria.
And there’s another factor as well:
actually converting those venoms into treatments.
For the most part, research has focused on two families of snakes.
One being Elapidae, which includes the cobras, mambas,
and coral snakes, some of the most deadly snakes to humans.
Studies have also centered around species from the Viperidae family,
the vipers and rattlesnakes.
There’s also Colubridae, a very large family of snakes.
There are only a small number of venomous species found in this family,
and even those that do produce toxins just don’t have particularly potent venom,
at least not to humans.
Colubrid snakes haven’t been as well studied for their antimicrobial properties,
but there could be big benefits to turning our attention towards them.
For one, there may be more adverse side effects for humans when we’re using
compounds isolated from the more deadly snake families.
So some researchers believe that studying colubrid venoms might actually
clue us in to treatments that are safer and better tolerated by humans.
And while there’s a lot of promise for tackling bacterial infections
using properties from venom, we haven’t gotten to the best part:
we might be able to use it to fight off other microbes too.
Venom tested from each of the three snake families
have also been shown to exhibit anti-parasitic properties.
For example, certain venoms were effective against the parasite Leishmania.
It causes leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly infection
that can create skin sores and interfere with the function of internal organs.
Finding new ways to fight off these types of parasites
would benefit people around the world.
All that said, there’s still a ways to go before you’ll be able to open your medicine
cabinet and take your pick of snake venom-based treatments.
New antibiotics are difficult to develop.
There haven’t been any approved for years now, and it’s not for lack of trying.
So despite all we now know about snake venom,
it will be difficult to turn it into something we can safely consume.
For instance, the size of many of the molecules in venom
makes them hard for us to manufacture.
We’d have to find a way to efficiently synthesize them for use in medicines.
We’ll also need to find ways to make them more long-lasting,
as well as find a form that could actually be taken up and used by the body,
so that they’d actually work in a pill or something similar.
And maybe most importantly,
we still need to figure out how these specific proteins can be used to affect
unwanted microbes without hurting our tissues at the same time.
Because. It’s snake venom.
But the research is looking very promising, and one day we might just be able to
thank a viper or a rattlesnake for saving our lives.
I think then we’ll be feeling pretty guilty about the bad rap
we’ve given them all these years.
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