Venom composition varies widely between species and even within the same species 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

Snake venoms typically consist of a mixture of 20 to >100 components, of which the majority (>90%) are peptides and proteins 7, with the dominant bioactivities including neurotoxicity, haemotoxicity and cytotoxicity, depending on the snake species. The large number of spider species (possibly >100,000) further increases venom diversity. The venom of a spider or cone snail might contain thousands of different peptides, whereas a scorpion’s venom might contain several hundred 3, 6. ICK peptides are structurally very stable and mainly target the nervous system, acting primarily on membrane channels or neuronal receptors 3, 4, 5.

The composition of the venoms of the first three is dominated by short (3–9-kDa) disulfide-rich peptides that contain the inhibitor cysteine knot (ICK) motif, although heavier proteins, including enzymes, are also present. The best characterized animal venoms are probably those derived from cone snails, spiders, scorpions and snakes. Animal venoms are complex and sophisticated bioactive cocktails, the main components of which are proteins and peptides 2. Venom endows predators with a chemical weapon far more potent than physical force. More than 220,000 species, or approximately 15% of all animal diversity on earth, are venomous 1. Finally, the challenges in realizing the immense curative potential of snake venom are discussed, and chemical strategies by which a plethora of new drugs could be derived from snake venom are proposed. The design and working mechanisms of snake-venom-derived drugs are illustrated, and the strategies by which toxins are transformed into therapeutics are analysed. The mixture of toxins that constitute snake venom is examined, focusing on the molecular structure, chemical reactivity and target recognition of the most bioactive toxins, from which bioactive drugs might be developed. This Review focuses on the chemistry of snake venom and the potential for venom to be exploited for medicinal purposes in the development of drugs. Today, there is renewed interest in pursuing snake-venom-based therapies. The curative capacity of venom has been known since antiquity, also making the snake a symbol of pharmacy and medicine. However, snakes did not always have such negative connotations. Owing to their lethality, snakes have often been associated with images of perfidy, treachery and death. The fascination and fear of snakes dates back to time immemorial, with the first scientific treatise on snakebite envenoming, the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus, dating from ancient Egypt.

Blue indigo snake venom cancer