New Delhi: A green mamba bite makes you suffer differently from other African snakebites that shut off brain signals. In a new study published in Toxins Friday, researchers from the University of Queensland found out what makes the African green mamba a dangerous snake when threatened.
Unlike other species in the mamba genus, the green mamba bite causes muscles to tighten and get stuck in a state of constant contraction due to a loss of control signals from the brain. The condition is called ‘spastic paralysis’.
It’s like putting a brick on a car’s accelerator pedal, which would lead to the vehicle speeding up uncontrollably and cause the engine to overheat.
In other snakebites, muscles shut off instead of being overactive. In both cases, death is caused by the inability to breathe.
However, during spastic paralysis, a person suffocates because the muscles required for breathing become tightened and stiff. This makes a green mamba bite difficult to treat, as most available antivenoms do not target spastic paralysis, according to the study.
Although the study has implied a different treatment approach for green mamba bites, challenges still remain in implementing the antivenoms in hospitals.
“For example, we also have a lot of monoclonal antibodies now, which are basically, you know, like the next generation of snakebite treatment. So these are antibodies made in the lab compared to conventional antivenoms, which are made by humanised horses,” said Karthik Sunagar, an associate professor who studies animal venoms at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
Conventional antivenoms are produced by immunising animals, which are sometimes called “humanised” when their immune responses are modified. The process includes introducing animals to small doses of venom and extracting antibodies from their blood to create antivenom.
“So we make monoclonal antibodies in cell lines [lab-grown cell populations]. They have to be clinically tested,” Sunagar added.
The researchers also found that the venom of the Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) varies across Africa. So, region-specific antivenom treatment is necessary to treat snakebites.
“[In] every snake, there will be some kind of regional variation in the snake venom,” said Pratyush Mohapatra, Officer-in-Charge, Reptilia Section, Zoological Survey of India. For instance, when a person is being treated with the antivenom developed from a north Indian snake for a snakebite in Chennai, the treatment becomes less effective.
“This regional variation in snake venom can be addressed by regionally producing antivenom for a specific state or geographic locality,” Mohapatra added.
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Snakebites in India
While green mamba doesn’t exist in India, more research into snakebites and related reactions in the human body is necessary in the country. “India is now targeting zero snakebite deaths. So, we are on a mission to zero down or at least reduce it to half by 2030,” said Mohapatra.
According to a May 2025 report titled Time to Bite Back: Catalysing a Global Response to Snakebite Envenoming, India ranked first in snakebite–related deaths.
“Hospital-based data reflect poorly the national burden of fatal snakebites,” noted a study on snakebite mortality in India 15 years ago.
Even today, snakebites in India are not documented, and the database isn’t updated in a timely manner, which makes it difficult to pin down the deaths to a number, said an expert in snake venom research who did not want to be named.
At times, snakebites can cause a different reaction in the body, other than muscle paralysis as in the case of the African mamba.
“India’s most medically important snake, which is the most clinically relevant species in the world, doesn’t cause neuromuscular paralysis. It affects the ability of your blood to clot,” said Sunagar. His lab at IISc has shown that different snakes in the same area can have very different venoms that become challenging to neutralise with conventional approaches.
The challenges in snakebite research mostly boil down to funding for fundamental research, according to Sunagar, who heads the Evolutionary Venomics Lab in IISc. Nonetheless, his lab is in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to fund clinical trials.
“Eventually, we’ll rely on ICMR’s clinical network for testing these on the ground,” Sunagar said.
Most research in India is focused on toxicity in common types of snakes, called the Big Four group—Russell’s viper, common krait, Indian cobra, and Indian saw-scaled viper.
“But we definitely need more studies on the effects of venom of all other species of potentially dangerous snakes,” Mohapatra said.
While the chances of snakebites from snakes that don’t fall into the Big Four category are less, the lack of research ails the toxicology side effects of snakebite. “The bites might lead to long-term effects of venom, which may affect the kidneys of the victim,” Mohapatra added.
“So, we need studies on other species of venomous or potentially dangerous snakes.”
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)