Deadly snake venom could form strong painkiller

According to a study by french scientists, the venom of the black mamba snake could help to form a painkiller as powerful as morphine.

The black mamba snake, which derives from Africa, is one of the world's fastest and most venomous. It is a compound found in their venom, called mambalgins, which gives pain relief when isolated.

The mambalgins are expected to have no side effects in humans, making it a potential replacement for morphine, which is addictive and can cause headaches, vomiting and muscle-twitching, amongst other conditions.

The study was published in the Nature journal, following tests on mice that showed mambalgins block the central and peripheral nervous system's acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), effectively giving pain relief.

Herpetologist and toxicologist, Zolan Takacs, said: "Animal venom toxins have a solid success rate [becoming] major drugs. There is no question this will continue, as the vast majority of toxins remain unexplored."

Study leader, Anne Baron, of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology in France, said: "It's remarkable that this was made possible from the deadly venom of one of the most venomous snakes."

However, Takacs added: "To develop a new drug you need 10 to 15 years hundreds of millions of dollars, and you still have no guarantees".