Medicinal value of animal venom for treatment of Cancer in Humans - A Review

Since cancer is one of the leading causes death worldwide and there is an urgent need to find better treatment. In recent years remarkable progress has been made towards the understanding of proposed hallmarks of cancer development and treatment. Anticancer drug developments from natural resources are ventured throughout the world. Venoms of several animal species including snake, scorpion, frog, spider etc. and their active components in the form of peptides, enzymes etc. have shown promising therapeutic potential against cancer. In the present review, the anticancer potential of venoms as well as their biochemical derivatives from some vertebrates like snake or frog or some venomous arthropods like scorpion, honey bee, wasps, beetles, caterpillars, ants, centipedes and spiders has been discussed. Some of these molecules are in the clinical trials and may find their way towards anticancer drug development in the near future. The recognition that cancer is fundamentally a genetic disease has opened enormous opportunities for preventing and treating the disease and most of the molecular biological based treatment are cost effective. The search for alternative economical and natural sources for cancer medicines is of utmost need for the future in combating this dreadful disease that is spreading at fast rate in the present era.