Black Mambo Venom Contains Painkiller Superior to Morphine

 A surprising bit of news that could prove valuable. Morphine's liability is its ability to inflict addiction as it is an opiate. Thus a pain killer that blocks pain and does not induce dependency is much to be desired. This is the promise of this discovery, otherwise we would be quite happy with morphine.

The black mamba is one of those snakes that you do not wish to encounter accidentally ever. They are a good reminder why a high level of alertness is mandatory when you are in any snake rich environment. There is even an island off China that is unfit for human visitation because of snake risk.

The only time I experienced my flight instincts kick in fully was when I abruptly was confronted by a snake at face level. For those who have never experienced this, what effectively occurs is that some part of your brain takes immediate charge and sends you flying. You regain conscious control about fifty feet away in full sprint mode showing form that Carl Lewis would be proud off.

It is nice to know that this instinct exists. It is also nice to know that the mambo could turn out to be a valuable source of pharmaceuticals.

Black mamba venom is 'better painkiller' than morphine

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A painkiller as powerful as morphine, but without most of the side-effects, has been found in the deadly venom of the black mamba, say French scientists.

The predator, which uses neurotoxins to paralyse and kill small animals, is one of the fastest and most dangerous snakes in Africa.

However, tests on mice, reported in the journal Nature, showed its venom also contained a potent painkiller.

They admit to being completely baffled about why the mamba would produce it.

The researchers looked at venom from 50 species before they found the black mamba's pain-killing proteins - called mambalgins.

Venomous species inflict poisonous wounds by stinging, scratching or biting their victims and injecting the toxin.

Dr Eric Lingueglia, from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology near Nice, told the BBC: "When it was tested in mice, the analgesia was as strong as morphine, but you don't have most of the side-effects."

Morphine acts on the opioid pathway in the brain. It can cut pain, but it is also addictive and causes headaches, difficulty thinking, vomiting and muscle twitching. The researchers say mambalgins tackle pain through a completely different route, which should produce few side-effects.

He said the way pain worked was very similar in mice and people, so he hoped to develop painkillers that could be used in the clinic. Tests on human cells in the laboratory have also showed the mambalgins have similar chemical effects in people.

But he added: "It is the very first stage, of course, and it is difficult to tell if it will be a painkiller in humans or not. A lot more work still needs to be done in animals."

Dr Nicholas Casewell, an expert in snake venom at the University of Liverpool, has recently highlighted the potential of venom as a drug source.

Commenting on this study he said: "It's very exciting, it's a really great example of drugs from venom, we're talking about an entirely new class of analgesics."

Dr Lingueglia said it was "really surprising" that black mamba venom would contain such a powerful painkiller.

Dr Casewell agreed that it was "really, really odd". He suggested the analgesic effect may work in combination "with other toxins that prevent the prey from getting away" or may just affect different animals, such as birds, differently to mice. - BBC