Testing of natural remedies for natural toxins

With the widespread exposure to venoms and toxins throughout our history, it is not surprising that there have been many attempts to find antidotes from locally available natural products. Since many victims of envenoming are likely to recover even without treatment, it is also not surprising that there are anecdotal accounts of apparently efficacious remedies. Given that many envenoming incidents happen in rural areas far from medical treatment and that supplies of proven antivenoms are often inadequate or prohibitively expensive, there is a clear need for effective and inexpensive treatments.