Venoms derived from animals, including their fractions, toxins, and isolated compounds, have been extensively studied as potential sources for drug development. However, their inherent toxicity and limited plasma stability pose major challenge for parenteral administration. Despite these obstacles, clinical research on these compounds for wound healing has shown promising results and attracted considerable attention in recent years. Therefore, this systematic review aims to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy, safety, and current clinical research status of toxins and related peptides in wound treatment. A systematic review was conducted from database inception to July 7, 2025 and included 4 databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, and LILACS. Search terms included "peptides", "toxins", "injuries" and " in vivo " to ensure broad inclusion criteria for the target population. Two independent researchers performed study screening and data extraction, with a discussion group responsible for resolving any discrepancies. The data were critically analysed and descriptively summarised in the manuscript. After the database search, 19 studies were classified as eligible based on the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis identified peptides derived from the venoms of various animal species, including snakes, spiders, scorpions, lizards and wasps. These peptides exhibited diverse mechanisms of action, biological functions and therapeutic applications, which emphasises their high complexity. These results suggest that further research on the development of novel biopharmaceuticals from animal venoms for topical application is highly promising, especially for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds.
Teles et al. (Wed,) studied this question.