Snakes rely on venom to disable prey and aid in the digestive process. These toxic proteins are the cause of most of the harmful effects of snake venom. ... Their secret knowledge of venom’s beneficial powers saved Mithradates’ life on the battlefield and anticipated modern scientific discoveries by more than 2,000 years. This is done by injecting animals like horses or sheep with small quantities of venom and collecting the antibodies they produced from their bloodstream to create antivenin. By Reeve Hamilton . Snake venom can kill in minutes, but … The first drug derived from snake venom toxin was developed to treat high blood pressure. A team of Brazilian researchers has been using a chemical called crovirin found in the venom of prairie rattlesnake to kill Leishmania protozoans, as well as … A study suggests it could prove beneficial for surgeries as well as for people suffering from heart-related health conditions. Medical Uses of Snake Venom Medical Uses of Snake Venom Proteins found in the snake venom could be used to create an anti-clogging drug. Snake Venom is extracted for a number of beneficial causes. Opossums can feed upon some venomous snakes thanks to a resistance to the snakes' venom. First snake venoms were used only for antivenom production, but then their use … In 67 BC, Mithradates suffered a grievous sword slash to the thigh. Bee venom, though, contains compounds that could have uses as diverse as combating HIV and helping to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Snake venom was another dreaded arrow poison used by several groups in antiquity. First of all, it is of course used to produce antivenin. Because snake venom is digestible it could be safely used for hunting game. More than half of the venom of honeybees is made up of a peptide called melittin. The human body uses this enzyme to … The dangerous effect of snake venom on humans is well known, but there are also many medicinal uses of snake venom, this specialized saliva has been used in medical situations across the globe: Excessive bleeding. But the real use of snake venom began in the late 19 century, when French scientist Albert Calmette found that if animals were injected with venom in small doses, their blood serum became a strong antidote[ 5 ]. But if venom could be introduced into the bloodstream of a human enemy, it guaranteed a painful death or a never-healing wound. Here the snake is milked of its venom as illustrated by the image, then a small non-lethal dose of the venom is injected into a horse. A blood-clotting protein in Taipan venom has been found to stop excessive bleeding during surgery or after major trauma. Snake venom can kill in minutes, but along with other deadly poisons, it's being used to create life-saving drugs. The primary component of snake venom is protein. Snake Venom and Bites. The Uses of Snake Venom in Antiquity. Most of us are afraid of venomous creatures—those creepy, crawly animals with fangs or stinger tails, not to mention those slithery snakes with lethal incisors dripping venom. Snake venom is the fluid secretions from the modified salivary glands of venomous snakes. This venom was taken from a Brazilian pit viper, consisting of a protein that prevents a compound called angiotensin-converting enzyme from functioning correctly. Throughout the world, it is estimated there are a minimum of 1 to 2 million annual snakebite incidents (this number includes bites by non-venomous species).Of that number, roughly 50,000 to 100,000 bites result in fatalities worldwide. After putting up a strong fight amid a patch of sunflowers, a large western diamondback rattlesnake was caught in a residential neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours of an otherwise ordinary day last spring. November 7, 2011 By AdrienneMayor. Despite its diminutive size, this toxin packs a mean punch – it’s the cause of the burning sensation that comes along with a sting. Venom Quest Secrets of the Serpentarium: Texas A&M-Kingsville lab explores beneficial uses of snake venom. The first and perhaps the most obvious use of snake venom is the production of anti-venom, the main technique used to produce anti-venom is known as the 'horse serum' method.