Venoms and toxins of natural origins have long bewitched humankind as a result of their pharmacological effects. Since ancient times, people have used various materials from nature to improve their health and cure their illnesses. Substances were derived from flora, fauna and mineral sources located both in people’s immediate surroundings and also in remote areas. The biological warfare has been going on in the immediate surroundings and remote areas for millions of years as each organism living there has fought for its survival. Modern biologists believed that we could put that biological weaponry to use for the good of humankind in the ultimate defeat of diseases which have thus far remained intractable. They used the large diversity and selectivity of many natural toxins to investigate the molecular mechanisms of physiological functions that they disrupt. This is one of the paradoxes of modern biology -- it advances in an antiphysiological manner; understanding of a biological function is often gained through experiments that are devised to block functions or mechanisms. Gila monster (Figure 1) and Mexican beaded lizard (Figure 2) are two distinct species, and belong to the Family of Helodermatidae. Until recently, Gila monster and Mexican beaded lizard were thought to be the only two venomous lizards in the world. They have figured largely in folklore and myth, representing evil, death or power to various Native American residents of Mexico and the Southwest United States. From 撰文English text | 郭珩輝Henry Kwok Hang Fai 中文翻譯Chinese translation│陳靜Ruby Chen 「毒咬」之藥── 來自大自然的巡航導彈 Drugs with "Monster" Bite: Nature's Cruise Missiles 天然毒液和毒素因其卓 越的藥效，長期以來令 人類深深著迷。自古以 來，人們就懂得從大自 然中尋找各種天然材料 來改善健康，治療疾 病。而這些天然材料都 是取自於人類聚居地附 近以及偏遠地區的動植 物和礦物質。數百萬年 以來，這些地區都不斷 上演著一場為生存而鬥 爭的生物戰。現代生物 學家認為應該將這些 生物武器用來造福人類，用於對抗目前尚未能根治的 頑疾。這是現代生物學的一個悖論──在實驗中，利 用很多天然毒素所具有的多樣性和選擇性，來研究生 理功能紊亂背後的生物機理；另一方面，透過阻礙 生物功能或機理的正常運作從而增加對天然毒素特 性的瞭解。 希拉毒蜥（圖1）和墨西哥串珠蜥蜴 （圖2）是同屬 於毒蜥科的兩個不同物種，一直以來人們誤以為希拉 毒蜥和墨西哥串珠蜥蜴是世界上唯一的兩種毒蜥。它 們經常出現在民間傳說和神話中；在墨西哥和美國西 南部的印第安居民眼裡，它們是邪惡、死亡和權力的 象徵。毒蜥慢吞吞的動作以至攻擊時的致命一咬，讓 圖1. 希拉毒蜥（學名：Heloderma suspectum） Figure 1. Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) 本文作者為澳門大學健康科學學院助理教授。其主要研究領域是利用天然 藥物，（包括採用毒液縮氨酸等）來治療癌症、糖尿病和類風濕性關節炎 等疾病。 Dr. Henry Kwok Hang Fai is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau. His research interests are mainly in the areas of natural drug discovery including venom-based peptide/protein and antibody therapy for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. UMAGAZINE ISSUE 10 61 學院專欄．FACULTY COLUMN
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