Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34959587›Full record

ReviewPathogens (Basel, Switzerland)2021

Antiprotozoal Effect of Snake Venoms and Their Fractions: A Systematic Review.

Zainab U Abdullahi, Salihu S Musa, Daihai He, Umar M Bello

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. BrazilianToxins · 2026
    Article
  2. NanoformulatedNanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Molecular interaction assaysThe journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Antimalarial efficacy ofJournal of parasitic diseases : official organ of the Indian Society for Parasitology · 2024
    Article
  7. Occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Brazilian veterinary hospital environment.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2023
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Zainab U AbdullahiDepartment of Biological Sciences, Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina 821101, Nigeria.
Salihu S MusaDepartment of Applied Mathematics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China.ORCID 0000-0001-6335-2335
Daihai HeDepartment of Applied Mathematics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3253-654X
Umar M BelloCentre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR) Limited, 17W Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong 999077, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8535-4163
Hong Kong Polytechnic University · HKFederal University Dutsin-MaHong Kong Eye Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundProtozoal infection is a lingering public health issue of great concern, despite efforts to produce drugs and vaccines against it. Recent breakthrough research has discovered alternative antiprotozoal agents encompassing the use of snake venoms and their components to cure these infections. This study collated the existing literature to examine the antiprotozoal effect of snake venoms and their fractions.

methodsWe conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. The PubMed and Embase databases were searched from their inception until 13 October 2021. Articles were screened at the title, abstract and full-text phases. Some additional studies were obtained through the manual search process.

resultsWe identified 331 studies via the electronic database and manual searches, of which 55 reporting the antiprotozoal effect of snake venoms and their components were included in the review. Around 38% of studies examined the effect of whole crude venoms, and a similar percentage evaluated the effect of a proportion of enzymatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2). In particular, this review reports around 36 PLA2 activities and 29 snake crude venom activities. We also report the notable phenomenon of synergism with PLA2 isoforms of

conclusionThis study highlights the impact of snake venoms and their fractions on controlling protozoal infections and suggests the need to examine further the effectiveness of other venom components, such as metalloproteinase, serine protease and three-finger toxins. Future research questions in this field must be redirected toward synergism in snake venom components, based on pharmacological usage and in the context of toxicology. Ascertaining the effects of snake venoms and their components on other protozoal species that have not yet been studied is imperative.

Indexed as

antiprotozoalsnake venomssystematic reviewvenom fractions

Identifiers

PMID34959587
PMCPMC8707848
OpenAlexW4200007087

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.