Can Camel’s Tear Neutralise Snake Venom?
A claim posted on July 19, 2025 on TikTok says that a drop of tear from a camel can neutralise the venom of 26 deadly snakes. The 8 seconds video which has a footage of a camel and its tears dropping with tiny pictures of snakes inside the tears, has a write-up within that reads, ‘Just one drop of a camel’s tear can neutralize the venom of 26 deadly snakes.’ The post was captioned with hashtags, “#camel #snake #tear #humans”, as the caption.
When this report was published, this claim had over 280 views and about 4 likes, comments, bookmarks and shares.
VERIFICATION
According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, approximately 5.4 million people are bitten annually, causing up to 138,000 deaths and countless long-term disabilities.
A research led by the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, CVRL, in Dubai, tested camelid antibodies derived from both tears and blood plasma may offer groundbreaking potential in neutralising snake venom. These camelid antibodies are also reportedly smaller, more heat-stable, and less likely to trigger allergic reactions than traditional horse-based antivenoms.
While the findings are compelling, researchers emphasise the need for peer-reviewed validation and progression to human clinical trials. Further development is required to confirm efficacy, optimal dosing, and safety in real-world applications. The study highlights the remarkable potential of camelid antibodies in the fight against a global health crisis. However, it does not affirm that camel tears can neutralise snake venom, but in humans.
The Times of India also
published a report on this study, noting the findings as a possibility that camel tears may have the extraordinary ability to neutralise venom from up to 26 snake species. The CVRL research suggests that camel tears might contain unique bioactive compounds or antibodies capable of neutralising venoms like neurotoxins and hemotoxins.
Experts Speak
Dr. Joshua Kotong at the Snakebite Treatment Centre, Kaltungo, Gombe state said, “this is my first time hearing of the research, but I can tell you that this research has a long way to go like clinical trials and the rest…You can see that it is very recent, possibly still in the laboratory stage.”
Dr. Ibrahim Bukar at the same treatment centre stated, “I just saw this last week while doing research on snakebites but it is too early to conclude. Different snakes possess different unique species of venom, so let’s see how this scales through.” He added that, “if this passes clinical and human trials and comes out true, it will be a great breakthrough as Gombe has quite a number of camels that can be used locally for such anti-venom production”.
CONCLUSION
The claim that a drop of tear from a camel can neutralise the venom of 26 deadly snakes is MISLEADING. Research on the potential of camel tears to neutralise snake venom, is still at its early stages and there is no peer-reviewed validation or progression to human clinical trials yet.
