Australian Scientists Study Spider Venom As A Potential Painkiller
IN PHOTO: Graham Milledge, collection manager at the Australian Museum's Arachnology division, tries to make the world's deadliest spider, a Sydney Funnel Web, produce some venom for research work in Sydney January 11. A recent five-year study by the American Museum of Natural History discovered that approximately 80 percent of Australian spiders, including the deadly funnel web species, have not yet been identified. Reuters

Researchers from the University of Queensland have discovered that painkilling properties are present in the venom of poisonous animals. The March 2015 published study can be found in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Australian scientists at the university have isolated building block of proteins or peptides from spider venom, which block the pathway that sends pain signals to the brain. The study involved analysing spider venom extracted from 205 species found in Australia as well as other countries. Various peptides were isolated from the venom, and each one affects pain transmission in the body. The results showed that 40 percent of the tested venom contained at least one peptide responsible for blocking pain channels.

One particular peptide that the researchers were able to isolate was from an orange-fringed tarantula from Borneo. Based on the research, scientists found that the peptide possesses the correct structure, potency and stability of a potential painkiller.

According to Jennifer Smith, a co-author of the study and research officer at the university’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience, painkillers derived from spider venom will act differently than standard opioid painkillers because they are not addictive. Smith explained that spider venom does not block a specific channel that signals pain. On the contrary, opiates like morphine block various opioid receptors on different cells, which make the drug addictive.

Australia is a perfect place for the research, according to Smith, because the country is home to different poisonous animal species. “Australia is the venom land,” Smith said in a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Different studies have already been conducted to test the painkilling properties of venom, not only from spiders but also from other animals like snakes and scorpions. In May 2013, a study was published on a synthetic compound derived from sea anemone venom that can be used to treat obesity.

The interest in studying the analgesic properties of venom was inspired by an earlier scientific discovery of a rare gene mutation in people known as the SCN9A, which eliminates pain sensations. Smith said that some living species, including plants, can mimic the gene mutation effects.

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