Biological Toxins as Medicines

Animals, plants and microbes can all produce deadly biological toxins. Botulinum from a bacterium; ricin from castor beans; and tetrodotoxin from Pufferfish are just a few examples.   

What’s still amazing to me is how scientists have learned to tame these deadly chemicals into useful medical treatments. 

The botulinum we mentioned is a neurotoxin that can cause life-threatening muscular paralysis, so it can paralyze muscles involved in breathing.   On the other hand, small doses are now used in medical and cosmetic treatments. People inject the toxin as BOTOX  to smooth facial wrinkles.  It can relieve the intensity and frequency of migraines by reducing nerve activation and reduce spasticity after strokes.  

Snake venoms are also used in medical treatments. Mayan pit vipers produce anticoagulants that can dissolve clots after a stroke and resolve deep vein thrombosis.  Other pit viper toxins produce ACE inhibitors that can treat heart failure and high blood pressure.  Some can even target cancer cells.  

That’s also true for plant toxins. Ricin can kill in small amounts but in cancer treatments, it’s being attached to antibodies that deliver it to cancer cells. Taxol, also derived from plants, works in breast and ovarian cancer treatments.   

And the list continues. Pufferfish toxins and cone snail venom are both non-addictive options for pain management. Without biomedical science, we wouldn’t know any of this. Let’s proudly support science and funding for lifesaving studies.