Venomous reptiles and their toxins

Taxonomía Lagarto

First report of human envenomation by Porthidium lansbergii hutmanni (Serpentes, Viperidae) in Isla de Coche, northeast of Venezuela/ Primer reporte de envenenamiento humano causado por Porthidium lansbergii hutmanni (Serpentes, Viperidae) en la Isla de Coche, Estado Nueva Esparta, Noreste de Venezuela.

Palabras:4116Articulo Anterior:Nuevos registros de localidad para la serpiente corredora Coluber bholanathi Sharma, 1976/Nuevos registros de localidad para la serpiente corredora Coluber...Articulo Siguiente:Evaluación de la población de babillas en los humedales del suroccidente de la isla Gorgona, Pacifico Colombiano/Evaluacion de la poblacion de...

Components of snake venom

Alejandro Alagón Cano (Mexico City, 1954) is a Mexican physician, researcher, professor and academic. He has specialized in the areas of antibody biotechnology and toxinology (see toxin), in research for the improvement of antivenoms and the development of new antivenoms. He received the National Award of Sciences and Arts in 2005.

2 - Ponce Lopez, Jose Roberto (2020). Heterologous expression of crotamine from Crotalus molossus nigrescens fused to sphingomyelinase D from loxosceles in Escherichia coli, for its use as a possible immunogen.

14 - Carbajal Saucedo, Alejandro (2014). Biological, biochemical and immunochemical characterization of Micrurus laticollaris venom : basis for the development of a broad-spectrum antivenom against corallids .

42 - Neri-Castro,E., Strickland,J.L., Carbajal-Marquez,R.A., Zuniga,J., Ponce-Lopez,R., Olvera,F., Alagon,A. (2022). Characterization of the venom and external morphology of a natural hybrid between Crotalus atrox and Crotalus mictlantecuhtli.

Pathophysiology of snake venom

We associate PTFE with Teflon, however it is not the same thing. And there is also the belief that PTFE is toxic. We delve into these issues, based on scientific evidence, to try to clarify these concepts and understand what materials we can use in the kitchen without risks of toxicity and how to use them.

Of all these characteristics, the one we are most interested in investigating is the fact that it is an inert substance, i.e. it does not react with other chemical substances, a subject whose controversy we will study in detail in this document.

Teflon was invented in 1938 and has been used in frying pans since 1961, using PFOA as an emulsifier in the manufacture of PTFE.    That is, PFOA (or another similar substance) was used in the PTFE manufacturing process and only a remnant of PFOA remained in the final product (1).

In 2006, the main PFAS (including PFOA) manufacturing companies committed themselves to seek alternatives and eliminate these substances from products and emissions (2), with scientific backing to prove their safety for health and the environment.

Lacertilia

Toxicofera (Greek, 'those that carry toxins') is a clade of squamates that includes the suborders Serpentes (snakes), Anguimorpha (lizards, Gila monster, and alligator lizards) and Iguania (iguanas, agamas, and chameleons). Toxicofera contains about 4600 species, (almost 60%) of the extant squamates. It encompasses all venomous reptile species, as well as numerous related non-venomous species. There is little morphological evidence to support this grouping, however, it has been recovered by all recent molecular analyses.

The newly discovered diversity of squamate species that produce venoms is a treasure trove for those seeking to develop new drugs; many of these venoms lower blood pressure, for example. Previously known venomous squamates have already provided the basis for drugs such as Ancrod, Captopril, eptifibatide, exenatide, and Tirofiban.