Characteristics of Venomous Coleopterans and Their Venom with Therapeutic Power (Insecta: Coleoptera)

Abstract

The medical importance linked to these beetles is because they have a terpene in their hemolymph insect blood that is soluble in various organic solvents, but practically insoluble in water, cantharidin. Only synthesized male cantharidin is stored until mating and transferred to the female at the time of copulation. When molested, these insects expel the toxin through the membranous joints of the body, causing vesicles similar to burns on human skin. Meloid beetles generate a poisonous chemical compound to, among other things, defend themselves from their predators. An international research team involving the Complutense University of Madrid has shown that cantharidin is toxic to several common parasites. The results explain that some birds, such as the great bustard, ingest this type of beetle, among other beneficial properties, due to the antiparasitic activity of cantharidin. The objective of this manuscript was to describe the characteristics of venomous coleopterans and their venom with therapeutic power (Insecta: Coleoptera). This is a narrative review of the literature, which is indicated to explain and discuss a certain subject from a theoretical or contextual perspective, in a to allow the reader to acquire and/or update knowledge on a specific topic. The search for scientific articles that made up this review was carried out on Google Scholar, Biological Abstract, HAL, Qeios, ResearchGate, Scielo, and SSRN. The following descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) were used: biological therapy, larva, wound, debridement, and healing. The following inclusion criteria were considered: Original articles and reviews, published nationally and internationally in full, available electronically, and published in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The exclusion criteria were dissertations, theses, monographs, and conclusion work, duplicates, and those that required payment to access the content in full.