Happy St Patrick's day – something to help you with the snakes?

What does it look like?

Image generated by the Mercury crystal structure visualisation software http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/Solutions/CSDSystem/Pages/Mercury.aspx

What is it?

The Carqueqja plant has been used by the indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest for centuries to treat a number of ailments. Given this usefulness, a group of Brazilian scientists also investigated if it could be used and an anti-venom. They isolated the active ingredient (a clerodane diterpenoid, which is what is pictured), determined its crystal structure and found that it was potentially very useful against a number of snake venoms.

Where did the structure come from?

The structural data for this molecule is held by the CCDC, code KIJREB, and was their 'featured structure' on Friday.

Tags: anti-venom   snake bite   St Patrick   molecular