Hematology products from snake venoms.

Venoms have primarily been used to prepare antivenoms for the treatment of snake bites, but they have constituents that might serve other medical needs. These include metalloproteinases, serine proteases, phospholipases, and C-type lectin-like proteins.

Some of the products that have been prepared from venoms are procoagulants employed as topical hemostatics, and either applied directly to bleeding wounds or used as adjuncts to surgical procedures to assist in controlling blood loss.

Venoms are also a valuable source of laboratory reagents helpful in diagnosing specific coagulation factor deficiencies, identifying lupus anticoagulants, or managing therapeutic anticoagulation.

In addition, the unique properties of certain venom components have led to their use as antithrombotic agents. This review describes how snake venoms have provided insight into coagulation mechanisms and generated products to improve human health.

Venomous snakes are dangerous but we must learn to safely share our planet with them, not least because studies of their venoms might lead to the discovery of valuable biomolecules.