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Overview of Snake Venom Chemistry

  • Chapter
Natural Toxins 2

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 391))

Abstract

Snake venom is not composed of single compounds but is a complex mixture of proteins. It is not known exactly how many proteins are present in a venom, but it probably consists of fifty to sixty components. Each protein possesses its own biological activity. A further complication is that composition and activity of a snake venom vary among the species. In general, the closer the phylogenetic relationship of the snakes, the more similar are the venom properties and composition.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1870, USA

    Anthony T. Tu

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  1. University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA

    Bal Ram Singh

  2. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Anthony T. Tu

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Tu, A.T. (1996). Overview of Snake Venom Chemistry. In: Singh, B.R., Tu, A.T. (eds) Natural Toxins 2. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 391. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0361-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0361-9_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-8016-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0361-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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