Animal venoms

Animal venoms are complex, biologically active mixtures composed mainly of peptides and proteins, sometimes containing small molecules, produced by a broad range of animals including snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees, and marine organisms. Venoms function in predation, defense, and sometimes communication, exerting their effects by interacting with molecular targets such as ion channels, enzymes, and receptors. The components of venoms have high specificity for these targets, causing effects like paralysis, cell death, or disruption of physiological systems. These effects, while often harmful to humans, have inspired drug discovery for diverse diseases (hypertension, thrombosis, pain, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases), with several venom-derived drugs approved or in development. Venom components are studied both as leads for therapeutics and for basic research, but the generic use of “animal venoms” is too broad for a precise molecular target entry and must be parsed into specific molecules for structured pharmacological databases. If structured information is required for a target, use the individual toxin or protein name (e.g., “Phospholipase A2”, “α-Bungarotoxin”, “Dendrotoxin”) rather than “animal venoms” as an entry.

Other names

VenomsAnimal toxinsAnimal-derived protein toxins

Variable; depends on the specific venom component: Enzyme inhibition, Ion channel blocking/modulation, Receptor antagonism/agonism, Protease activation/inhibition, Anticoagulation, Neurotoxicity.