Toxins from Animal Venoms as a Potential Source of Antimalarials: A Comprehensive Review

Toxins (Basel). 2023 Jun 3;15(6):375. doi: 10.3390/toxins15060375.

Abstract

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium spp. and it is mainly transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Malaria is an important global public health problem due to its high rates of morbidity and mortality. At present, drug therapies and vector control with insecticides are respectively the most commonly used methods for the treatment and control of malaria. However, several studies have shown the resistance of Plasmodium to drugs that are recommended for the treatment of malaria. In view of this, it is necessary to carry out studies to discover new antimalarial molecules as lead compounds for the development of new medicines. In this sense, in the last few decades, animal venoms have attracted attention as a potential source for new antimalarial molecules. Therefore, the aim of this review was to summarize animal venom toxins with antimalarial activity found in the literature. From this research, 50 isolated substances, 4 venom fractions and 7 venom extracts from animals such as anurans, spiders, scorpions, snakes, and bees were identified. These toxins act as inhibitors at different key points in the biological cycle of Plasmodium and may be important in the context of the resistance of Plasmodium to currently available antimalarial drugs.

Keywords: Plasmodium; animal venom toxins; antimalarials; malaria; resistance to antimalarials.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anopheles*
  • Antimalarials* / pharmacology
  • Antimalarials* / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Malaria* / drug therapy
  • Mosquito Vectors
  • Plasmodium falciparum
  • Plasmodium*
  • Toxins, Biological* / therapeutic use
  • Venoms / pharmacology
  • Venoms / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Venoms
  • Toxins, Biological

Grants and funding

This research was financed by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas—FAPEAM—RESOLUÇÃO N. 005/2022, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES—Finance code 001), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) (Pró-Estado Program-#002/2008, #007/2018, and #005/2019), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) via scholarships provided to I.O. (No. 2020/13176-3 and No. 2022/08964-8). We also would like to thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the productivity grants provided to W.M.M. (No. 309207/2020-7), H.H.F.K. (No. 305942/2020-4), G.C.M. (No. 315156/2021-0), M.P. (No. 307184/2020-0) and D.C.B.d.-S. (bolsista visitante nacional II da Fapeam). The author H.H.F.K. also acknowledges FAPEAM for the PRODOC project (Call 003/2022).