Abstract

Cone snails are slow-moving marine gastropods under the phylum molluscs. They are
carnivorous and use venom to kill their prey. The venom of cone snails consists of most complex
mixtures of toxins in the animal kingdom. These toxins are mostly peptidic in nature and so they
are called as conopeptides or conotoxins. Such a small droplet of this venom causes a great
damage to its prey and the same impressive destructive power of venoms has been turned into a
life-saving drugs. One such molecule, -conotoxin is now an FDA-approved drug to treat
chronic pain, for cancer and post-surgical pain. In addition, several other cone snail compounds
are being investigated for the treatment of neuropathic pain, epilepsy, cardiac infarction, and
neurological diseases. Conotoxins, rich in disulfide bonds are small peptides of 10 to 35 residues
has high and specific effect on various receptors in pain pathway, voltage or ligand gated ion
channels and nerve transmission. Due to these properties conotoxins have been used as
molecular tool in the study of ion channels and receptors and as potential pharmaceuticals. Thus,
conus venoms are now regarded as pharmacological treasures leading to drug discovery.

Key words: cone snails, conus venom, conotoxins, conopeptides, ion channels.