Bitis arietans venom (BaV)

Bitis arietans venom is a highly complex mixture of proteins and peptides secreted by the puff adder, a snake responsible for a significant portion of snakebite fatalities in Africa (WHO, 2021) [2]. The venom is characterized by its potent cytotoxic, hemotoxic, and inflammatory effects, primarily mediated by snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), phospholipases A2 (PLA2s), and serine proteases (Calvete et al., 2007) [1]. These components induce severe local tissue damage, systemic hemorrhage, and cardiovascular instability by degrading extracellular matrix proteins and interfering with the coagulation cascade (Ainsworth et al., 2018) [5]. Therapeutically, the venom is the primary target for polyvalent antivenoms, such as the SAIMR Polyvalent Antivenom, which employ immunoglobulin fragments to neutralize circulating toxins (South African Vaccine Producers) [4]. Additionally, the venom serves as a target for emerging small-molecule therapeutics like varespladib, designed to inhibit specific enzymatic pathways such as PLA2-mediated inflammation (Lewin et al., 2016) [3].

Other names

Puff adder venomAfrican puff adder venom

The primary mechanism of action for drugs targeting Bitis arietans venom involves the neutralization of toxic proteins through antibody-mediated binding (antivenoms) or the direct inhibition of enzymatic activities, such as phospholipase A2 or metalloproteinase catalysis, by small-molecule inhibitors (Lewin et al., 2016; Ainsworth et al., 2018) [3, 5].