Gift of a rare snake base for a new very effective painkiller

Drug does not make you dependent and is more effective than opium
The venom of a rare snake from Asia could be used in the future to create a new effective analgesic. Researchers have now discovered that the venom of the so-called blue coral snake can be used to effectively treat pain in cancers, muscle tears and migraines.

The researchers from the University of Queensland found in their study that the poison of a very rare Asian snake could be used as a new effective painkiller. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Toxins".

The blue coral snake is a very rare but also very poisonous animal. From the venom of the Asian snake can be produced an effective analgesic. This seems to be more effective than opium and yet not addictive. (Image: david gartland / fotolia.com)

New drug more effective than opium?
From the poison of one of the rarest snakes in Southeast Asia can seemingly be made into a non-addictive painkiller. This painkiller could even be more effective than opium, scientists say. For 15 years, the scientists have been researching the development of a painkiller from the snake venom.

Blue Coral Snake has the largest venom glands of any snake species
With the combination of blue stripes and a neon-red head and tail, the blue coral snake is probably one of the world's most striking snake species. The colorful snake also has the largest venom glands in the world, which extend over a quarter of the length of the body, explain the researchers.

Rare snake is threatened with extinction
The blue coral snake exists only in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. However, the rare snake is threatened with extinction by mass deforestation, the scientists explain. The animal is already very rare anyway and now also the habitat of the snake will be destroyed. Forests are being cut down to create more space for palm oil plantations, scientists say.

People are eradicating animals and plants that could cure many diseases
This is a great example of why we need to protect nature. Such a rare animal could possibly be useful for human medicine. But of course, the recovered medicine can not save lives when the snake is extinct, the researchers emphasize. It is not unlikely that the deforestation of vast forest areas also destroyed many unknown medicinal plants. There may have been plants to cure cancer, but we have already eradicated them before we could ever study them, explains author. Bryan Fry from the University of Queensland.

Health benefits of the poison were discovered only by accident
Dr. Fry has been working with snakes for the last twenty years. However, the discovery of the health benefits of the poison was only by accident. The research team is now working on an artificial, improved version of the toxin before the poison is converted into effective medicine. This could mean commercialization and mass production. There are other similar strokes of the same bloodline that need to be investigated. Only then can it be determined whether the poison of these animals may have similar benefits, the author explains.

In which countries there is an increased risk of snake bites?
Especially nowadays poisonous animals and snake bites are still an underestimated danger. The World Health Organization WHO reports 5 million snakebites annually. Of these, unfortunately, about 125,000 deadly and 300,000 dead with a permanent disability. In Asia, hundreds of thousands of people are bitten by poisonous snakes every year, as well as in Africa. There are also around 10,000 snakebites in the United States each year.

Where are there no poisonous snakes??
But there are also some parts of the world that are free of poisonous snakes. These include, for example, the Antarctic, some islands in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Caribbean. But Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Madagascar have no poisonous snakes. (As)