Venom Medicine: What Does Not Kill You Makes You Cancer Free

A recent study conducted by the Macau Institute for Applied Research in Medicine and Health in China unveiled the what has long been a content of arguments whether venoms are killers or healers.

Their research has shown significant signs that toad venom can serve as an anti-cancer agent in line with what ancient cultures believed that this unusual medicine can cure heart failure, tumors, and pain.

"Our research provides valuable chemical evidence for the appropriate processing method, quality control and rational exploration of toad skin and toad venom for the development of anticancer medicines," said the authors of Journal of Ethnopharmacology, according to The Daily Beast.

However, the regulation of this toad venom medicine should be strictly implemented as this kind of venom has been to be toxic specifically to dogs. Licking a toad may lead to serious health problems to dogs which may be fatal if not treated immediately.

Humans are also susceptible to this toxins. "Illegal aphrodisiac" can cause "serious poisonings and death," this emergency warning has been issued after a 39-year old man died in New York after ingesting the venom.

So how do people know which part and how much amount of the venom can actually heal and what percentage kills?

Phys Org reported that The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) led a group of scientists to invent a method to identify which part of the body will be healed by a specific type of venom so that they may be able to segregate and process that substance for medical use.

Aside from the ones obtained from toads, University of Buffalo discovered in 2012 that muscular dystrophy can be cured by spider venom. Peptides from centipede venoms have an effect as that of a morphine, thereby making it an effective painkiller.

Snake venoms that produce hemotoxins can treat blood disorders and heart attack. While its content called neurotoxins targets brain injuries, stroke, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Scorpion toxins, on the other hand, does not only serve as a painkiller but is also a good anti-cancer agent.

"The scorpion toxin finds the cancer cells and drags the flashlight into them and makes them glow brilliantly," said Dr. Jim Olson, a brain cancer specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital, as per Medical Daily.

Watch this video on the advantages of snake venom to human health.