Mambalgins from Black Mamba...
Mambalgins are peptides found in the venom of the deadly African snake known as Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepsis), from the Elapidae family. This peptide toxin was discovered, after a number of experiments carried out with venoms of a wide range of snakes, by a group of researchers of Niza (France), directed by Dr. Silvie Diochot.
This discovery came as a huge surprise to the researchers due to the fact that mambalgins have a potent analgesic effect, which is not typical of such a deadly and dangerous reptile, given that many other snakes instead of omitting pain, produce it in great measure. The name of the peptide was given by the researchers and is a combination between ‘mamba’, which determines the name of the snake, and ‘algin’, which defines its analgesic power.
