Herbs as Antidote for Snakebite Treatment in India — Traditional Practices and it’s Future Prospects — A Review

Abstract

Snakebite is a life-threatening neglected tropical infection reporting high mortality across the world including India. Out of the available yearly statistics, this occupational hazard caused 4.5-5.4 million people and nearly 1,38,000 fatalities were reported globally. Several factors such as the low availability of antivenom, inadequate health centers in rural areas, poor transportation facilities affected the higher number of morbidity and mortality cases of snakebite. The prognostic and diagnostic approach towards the snake bite infection is difficult due to its complexity in venom. The conventional therapy is polyvalent antivenom derived from horses or sheep, with its limitations. Traditional physicians use plants and other herbs as their sustainable remedy for snake bite treatment. Nearly, 523 plant species from 122 families reported their neutralizing property against toxic venom. The secondary metabolites extracted from plants are capable of reducing the toxic effects of the venom. Many research works have reported the inhibitory potential of the plant compounds against the snake venom enzymes. Therefore, there is a necessity for increasing therapeutic studies on plant metabolites and the development of an antidote for the better treatment of snakebite. This review article discusses various herbal plants used for snake bites in India.