Indian cobra venom can be used to treat CardioVascular diseases

Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology

Symposium on ‘Lipids and Cardiovascular diseases’ held.

Seen are (from left) Prof. B. S. Vishwanath, Chairman, DOS, Bio-chemistry, UoM; Prof. M.A. Shekar of MMC&RI, Mysore; Prof. K.S. Rangappa, Vice-Chancellor, UoM; Prof. H.A. Ranganath, Director, NAAC and Prof. Cletus J.M. D’souza, Former Faculty, Dept. of Bio-chemistry, UoM, during the inauguration of the two-day National symposium in city yesterday.
Seen are (from left) Prof. B. S. Vishwanath, Chairman, DOS, Bio-chemistry, UoM; Prof. M.A. Shekar of MMC&RI, Mysore; Prof. K.S. Rangappa, Vice-Chancellor, UoM; Prof. H.A. Ranganath, Director, NAAC and Prof. Cletus J.M. D’souza, Former Faculty, Dept. of Bio-chemistry, UoM, during the inauguration of the two-day National symposium in city yesterday.

 Mysore :

An effective molecule from the venom of the Indian Cobra called ‘Metalloprotease’ which can be explored to treat deadly clinical conditions like cardiovascular diseases has been identified by the Department of Studies in Biochemistry, University of Mysore.

The study says that the molecule which has been identified has beneficial properties like inhibiting platelet aggregation, inhibiting clot formation and dissolving existing clots.

Dr. K. Kemparaju, Professor, DOS in Biochemistry, UoM, who presented a paper ‘Metalloprotease from Indian Cobra Venom and Mechanism of its Antihemostatic Effect,’ at the two-day National Symposium on ‘Lipids and Cardiovascular Diseases,’ being held at B.N. Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences at Manasagangotri here from yesterday, said that snake venom is a gold mine for extracting specific target molecules and added that as venomous snakes immobilise and kill their prey by targeting vital organs.

He further said that Anti-venom therapy fails to control the local toxicity of envenomation and therefore new therapeutic strategies are in demand for the efficient management of the condition. Further, as venoms are known as the depot of molecules that exhibit high target specificity, there is a greater scope for isolation, characterisation and understanding the molecular mechanisms of toxins that may serve as prototypes for designing therapeutic molecules, he added.

Dr. Kemparaju said that snake bites is an integral occupational hazard among farm workers worldwide and added that human suffering, morbidity and mortality rate due to snake bite was becoming high in South and Southeast Asian countries.

He further said that about 5.5 million people are estimated to be affected by snake bites, of which around four lakh have to be amputated and added that due to the high and incredible degree of target specificity of the venom, the molecules or toxins of venom are extensively explored as analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic tools in biology and human health.

Dr. Kemparaju has research specialisation in Pharmacology of snakes and spider venoms, special emphasis on hyaluronidases and metalloproteases in local toxicity, geographical variations of snake venoms and venom neutralisation.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 14th, 2014

Leave a Reply