In the 1960s, scientists studying the venom of Brazilian pit viper found a compound lowered BP

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons) Long before modern medical science emerged, nature held answers to healing, protection and healthy living within its bounds. Across several communities and spiritual cosmologies, the natural world has been viewed as the guide for the human world, as have the species that reside in it. Among the myriad spcies that have been a major subject of scientifc study, the animal venom has held serious importance. Therefore, native to parts of South American, including Brazil, a pit viper that possesses harmful venom was researched in the 1960s. The snake in question was Bothrops jararaca, commonly known as the Brazilian lancehead or jararaca.(Image credit: Canva) As researchers investigated its biolgical effects, they discovered compounds that would help shape the evolution of a new class of medicine, soemthing that would go on to change the use of western drugs in cardiovascular medicine, as this pit viper went on to change the treatment of blood pressure. With this seminal discovery, a research led a new pathway for a harmful substance to become a paramount drug. This work contributd to the development of captopril, an oral drug approved in the United stat...