Venomtech Ltd., Sandwich, Kent CT13 9FE, UK.
School of Psychology and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury CT1 1QU, UK.
Toxins (Basel). 2020 Dec 6;12(12):774. doi: 10.3390/toxins12120774.
Snakebite envenomation (SBE) is a high-priority, neglected tropical disease. This devastating occupational health hazard disproportionately affects rural farming communities in tropical countries. This is exacerbated by the distribution and densities of venomous snakes, incidence of encounters, and limited access to advanced healthcare, including antivenom. Before the development of antivenom, desperation and spiritual beliefs led patients to experiment with a wide range of traditional treatments. Many of these treatments still survive today, particularly in regions where access to healthcare is limited. Plants are a major source of bioactive molecules, including several lifesaving medications that are widely used to this day. However, much of the research into the use of traditional plant treatments for SBE are limited to preliminary analysis or have focused on techniques used to confirm antibody efficacy that are not suitable for non-antibody-containing treatments. Modern drugs are developed through a robust pharmaceutical drug discovery and development process, which applies as much to SBE as it does to any other disease. This review discusses specifically why research into ethnobotanical practices has failed to identify or develop a novel treatment for SBE and proposes specific approaches that should be considered in this area of research in the future.
蛇伤（SBE）是一种高优先级、被忽视的热带病。这种破坏性的职业健康危害在热带国家的农村农业社区中不成比例地更为严重。这种情况因毒蛇的分布和密度、遭遇的发生率以及获得先进医疗保健（包括抗蛇毒血清）的机会有限而加剧。在抗蛇毒血清开发之前，绝望和精神信仰促使患者尝试了广泛的传统治疗方法。如今，许多这些治疗方法仍然存在，尤其是在医疗保健有限的地区。植物是生物活性分子的主要来源，包括几种至今仍广泛使用的救生药物。然而，对于使用传统植物治疗 SBE 的研究，很大程度上仅限于初步分析，或者集中于用于确认抗体疗效的技术，而这些技术不适用于不含抗体的治疗方法。现代药物是通过强大的药物发现和开发过程开发的，这与治疗任何其他疾病一样适用于 SBE。本综述特别讨论了为什么对民族植物学实践的研究未能确定或开发出治疗 SBE 的新方法，并提出了未来在这一研究领域应考虑的具体方法。
