Snakes have always been creatures of myth, intriguing but fascinating, and long associated with good as well as with evil, representing life and death, creation and destruction. However, in modern times with the advent of scientific know-how, one aspect of these captivating 
creatures has given birth to a research discipline, christened "snake venom research", specifically pertaining 
to venomous snakes. Now, “What is snake venom?” 

Snake venoms are complex mixtures of pharmacologically active polypeptides and proteins, and are 
therefore veritable gold mines for various drug leads.1 A case in point is Captopril, the first venom-based drug, 
discovered in 1975 from Bothrops jaracusa (the Brazilian arrowhead viper venom) by Nobel Prize winner 
Sir John Vane and later commercialised by the pharmaceutical giant Squibb. Captopril is an angiotensin-
converting enzyme inhibitor and therefore a potent anti-hypertensive agent.2 At present in the Sultanate 
of Oman, there are 9 species of poisonous snakes (see Figures 1 and 2 for images of two of the venomous 
species), but little is known about the venom biochemistry of these enthralling serpents. One of the long 
term scientific interests of the lead authors of this communication has been to study the biochemistry of 
venoms in order to identify novel pharmacologically active molecules. In this endeavour, a team has been 
formed in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan 
Qaboos University. This group, designated the Venom Research Group, consists of Drs. Yajnavalka Banerjee, 
Professor Riad Bayoumi, Yahya Al-Tamimi and Naseer Al-Nazwani. Mr Seyad Farook of the University Small 
Animal House, who is in charge of the University herpetarium, is also an ardent member of this team. The 
team aims to obtain insight into the venoms of these 9 species of serpents through diverse proteomic and 
transcriptomic tools, which will hopefully lead to the identification of drug leads targeting some common 

SQU Med J, April 2010, Vol. 10, Iss. 1, pp. 142-143, Epub. 17th Apr 10
Received - 22nd Feb 10

هل ميكن أن يكون سم األفعى ُمنقِذا للحياة؟
ياجنافالكا بانريجي، ريا�س بي�مي، �شيد فاروق

Could Deadly Snake Venom Save Lives?
*Yajnavalka Banerjee,1 Riad Bayoumi1 and Seyad MS Farook2

letter to editor

1Department of Biochemistry and 2Small Animal House, College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, 
Oman
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: yaj@squ.edu.om

Figure 1: Atractaspis micropholis andersoni, commonly 
known as the mole viper, found in Oman and 
Southwestern Saudi Arabia. The average size of an adult 
snake is about 45 cm, with some growing up to 75 cm. 

Figure 2: Echis carinatus, commonly known as the saw 
scaled viper, found not only in Oman and the Middle East, 
but also in the Indian sub-continent and central Asia. Size 
ranges between 38 and 80 cm in length, but usually no 
more than 60 cm



Yajnavalka Banerjee, Riad Bayoumi and Seyad MS Farook

Letter to Editor | 143

human diseases. Additional goals of the Group include mapping the geographical distribution of these 
species as well as studying the evolution of these snakes. Researchers from the Ministry of Defense, under 
the supervision of Dr Yahya Al-Rashdi, will also participate in this project. Scientists from Saudi Arabia and 
Ministry of Health in Oman have also expressed their keenness to contribute towards this endeavour. In line 
with the enthusiasm expressed by researchers and clinicians, and in order to establish a more holistic group 
of researchers a workshop was organised on the 31st of March 2010 under the theme of “Initiatives into 
Snake Venom Research”, which aimed at informing the scientific community and the general public about 
the immediate and long term goals of this project. In summary, we sincerely believe that the above project 
provides the revelation that “Deadly snake venom does have the potential to save life”. 

References
1. Calvete JJ, Juarez P, Sanz L. Snake venomics. Strategy and applications. J Mass Spectrom 2007; 

42:1405–14.

2. Aurell M, Rudin A, Tisell LE, Kindblom LG, Sandberg G. Captopril effect on hypertension in patient 
with renin-producing tumour. Lancet 1979; 2:149-150.