Latest Research, This Snake Venom Can Be Used as a High Blood Pressure Medication in Humans

Latest Research, This Snake Venom Can Be Used as High Blood Pressure Medication in Humans

Poison from some snakes and spiders can kill the largest creatures within hours, but it turns out that the venom from this snake species may actually be beneficial to us. Scientists have discovered that the venom from a snake species in South America called the Cotiara pit viper (Bothrops cotiara) contains chemicals that can help lower our blood pressure, as revealed in a new paper in the journal Biochimie.

Dalam dosis yang tepat, protein dari racun ini suatu hari nanti bisa digunakan sebagai pengobatan medis.

"In the right dosage, the protein from this venom can one day be used as a medical treatment."

Source: Newsweek

The researchers, who come from the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of São Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP), found that protein fragments or peptides in snake venom called Bc-7a can lower blood pressure, as they function similarly to the proteins that form blood pressure-lowering drugs like captopril. Captopril and similar drugs work by inhibiting the activity of an enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), which is important in controlling blood pressure in the body.

"Poison never ceases to surprise us. Even with so much accumulated knowledge, new discoveries are still possible, such as unexpected fragments that are part of known proteins. Despite all the available technology, there is still much to be learned about this poison,"

Alexandre Tashima, a research writer and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP), said in a statement.

"New Formulation"

This finding can pave the way for new formulations of ACE inhibitors that lower blood pressure, as many of the currently available drugs cause unpleasant side effects such as dizziness, cough, and high levels of potassium in the blood.

This study also revealed that 197 proteins have been identified in the snake venom, where 189 of them were first discovered in the venom. Until 2012, only 73 proteins had been identified. This increase in identification is due to advances in faster and more sensitive equipment, as noted by the authors in the paper.

"In this type of analysis, the obtained protein sequence is only a brief representation. Cleavage, enzymatic degradation, and other processes that result in new peptides which may not necessarily be detected occur at any given time,"

word Tashima.

Several previous studies have also found that some spider venom may contain medically beneficial compounds.

Source: Newsweek

However, further research is needed before the toxic compounds of spiders or snakes can be used in medicine. Tashima notes that this finding highlights the importance of saving species from extinction, as they may be able to provide us with treatments for unknown medical problems.

Source: Newsweek

"Although there have been advancements in sequencing technology and the production of large amounts of data in recent years, there is still much to be discovered about the vast array of peptides and their biological roles. We must make use of our luck in being able to study these species, many of which may become extinct even before they are discovered."
word Tashima.

Source: Newsweek

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