Scorpion Venom: Poison or Antidote?

Scorpion sting and venom

 

Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger. Scorpions range in size from 9 mm (Typhlochactas mitchelli) to 21 cm (Hadogenes troglodytes).
Scorpions are found widely distributed over all continents, except Antarctica, in a variety of terrestrial habitats except the high latitude tundra. Scorpions number about 1752 described species, with thirteen extant families recognised to date. The taxonomy has undergone changes and is likely to change further, as a number of genetic studies are bringing forth new information.
Though the scorpion has a fearsome reputation as venomous, only about 25 species have venom capable of killing a human being

 

 

All known scorpion species possess venom and use it primarily to kill or paralyze their prey so that it can be eaten; in general it is fast-acting, allowing for effective prey capture. It is also used as a defense against predators. The venom is a mixture of compounds (neurotoxins, enzyme inhibitors, etc.) each not only causing a different effect, but possibly also targeting a specific animal. Each compound is made and stored in a pair of glandular sacs and is released in a quantity regulated by the scorpion itself. Of the 1000+ known species of scorpion, only 25 have venom that is dangerous to humans; most of those belong to the family Buthidae.

First aid

First aid for scorpion stings is generally symptomatic. It includes strong analgesia, either systemic (opiates or paracetamol) or locally applied (such as a cold compress). Hypertensive crises are treated with anxiolytics and vasodilators.

Medical use

The deathstalker has powerful venom.

The key ingredient of the venom is a scorpion toxin protein.
Short chain scorpion toxins constitute the largest group of potassium (K⁺) channel blocking peptides; an important physiological role of the KCNA3 channel, also known as K_V1.3, is to help maintain large electrical gradients for the sustained transport of ions such as Ca²⁺ that controls T lymphocyte (T cell) proliferation. Thus K_V1.3 blockers could be potential immunosuppressants for the treatment of autoimmune disorders (such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis).
The venom of Uroplectes lineatus is clinically important in dermatology.
Toxins being investigated include:

• Chlorotoxin is a 36-amino acid peptide found in the venom of the deathstalker scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus) which blocks small-conductance chloride channels. The fact that chlorotoxin binds preferentially to glioma cells has allowed the development of new methods, that still are under investigation, for the treatment and diagnosis of several types of cancer.
• Maurotoxin from the venom of the Tunisian Scorpio maurus palmatus

Consumption

Eating scorpions in Beijing, China

Scorpion and snake wine

Fried scorpion is a traditional dish from Shandong, China.
As a part of Chinese medicine, scorpion wine and snake wine are used as analgesic and antidote.

In culture

• One of earliest occurrences of the scorpion in culture is its inclusion, as Scorpio, in the twelve signs of the series of constellations known as the Zodiac by Babylonian astronomers during the Chaldean period.
• In North Africa and South Asia, the scorpion is a significant animal culturally which appears as a motif in art, especially in Islamic art in the Middle East. It is perceived both as an embodiment of evil as well as a protective force which counters evil, such as a dervish's powers to combat evil. In another context, the scorpion portrays human sexuality. Scorpions are used in folk medicine in South Asia especially in antidotes for scorpion stings.

• In ancient Egypt the goddess Serket was often depicted as a scorpion, one of several goddesses who protected the Pharaoh.

• Surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel makes notable symbolic use of scorpions in his 1930 classic L'Age d'or (The Golden Age).

• The first two pages of Ian Fleming's novel Diamonds Are Forever are told from the point of view of an African scorpion which kills and eats a beetle and is then casually crushed and killed itself, by one of the villains whom James Bond would later confront and eventually crush.