DRUGS CONTAINING SNAKE VENOM: HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT, NOMENCLATURE, IDENTIFICATION

• Main Authors: V. E Grigorieva, O. V Gunar, N. G Sakhno, G. M Bulgakova, N. V Molchan
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: OOO “Vashe Tsifrovoe Izdatelstvo” 2018-06-01
• Series: Ведомости Научного центра экспертизы средств медицинского применения
• Subjects: medicines; snake venom; quality evaluation; identification; precipitation reaction
• Online Access: https://www.vedomostincesmp.ru/jour/article/view/159
• ISSN: 1991-2919; 2619-1172

The article presents general data on the chemical composition and properties of snake venoms, as well as the history of their use in medical practice. It considers the differences characteristic of the venom of snakes belonging to different systematic groups. It demonstrates that venoms remain a valuable source of new medicines. The article compares existing methods of venom analysis (immunological, chromatographic, electrophoretic, mass spectrometric). Particular attention is paid to specific metho-dological aspects of identification testing depending on the object and purpose of the analysis. The article also compares different modifications of the precipitation reaction. It highlights the advantages and disadvantages of existing methods. The affordability and simplicity of immunological methods accounts for their wide use in the analysis of poisons in biological media which helps to determine the cause of poisoning. While greater informativeness of instrumental methods makes them a perfect toll for detailed examination of poison composition during poisons research and comparison. The authors of the article performed  a retrospective analysis of data obtained in identification testing of snake venoms during the period from 2006 to 2017. It has been established that manufacturer specifications for individual medicinal products in some cases do not contain instructions on the use of a specific type of precipitation reaction or the description of test procedures. It was concluded that some modifications should be made to the existing method, the choice of conditions for sample preparation should be considered, or alternative methods for identification of snake venoms in medicinal products should be developed.