Properties and Pharmacology of Scorpion Toxins and Their Biotechnological Potential in Agriculture and Medicine.

Scorpion venoms contain a wide range of toxins that interact with a variety of target molecules (ion channels, receptors and enzymes) associated with synaptic transmission, action potential propagation, cardiac function, hemostasis and other physiological systems. Scorpion toxins are also active towards bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Such interactions make scorpion toxins useful lead molecules for developing compounds with biotechnological and therapeutic applications, and as tools for cell biology. In addition, scorpion toxins act as insectotoxins, with promising applications as insecticides. This review describes the range of scorpion toxins and discusses their usefulness for the development of insecticides and therapeutic drugs.