Preliminary biochemical characterization of the venoms of five Colubridae species from Brazil.

The paraphyletic family Colubridae comprises several species of rear-fanged snakes with toxin-secreting Duvernoy's gland, some of them able to cause human envenomation with systemic and/or local damage. In this work we have explored some aspects of biochemical composition and activity of the venoms of five species from Colubridae family from Brazil. Taken together our results suggest distinct features in colubrid venoms, which could be related to the presence of still unknown toxins. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.