Snakin
A heat-stable, cysteine-rich plant defence peptide family that disrupts microbial membranes. Research compounds, not drugs
Snakins are plant antimicrobial peptides, first found in the potato and since discovered across wheat, barley, tomato and other plants. They belong to the Snakin/GASA family and have a striking signature: twelve conserved cysteines that form up to six disulfide bonds, locking each ~63-residue peptide into a scaffold so stable it survives autoclaving. That rugged, strongly cationic structure lets snakins bind and break microbial membranes, giving them broad antibacterial and antifungal activity — and, interestingly, a selectivity that spares cholesterol-rich animal membranes, which keeps their damage to blood cells low. In plants they do more than kill microbes: they help fight bacterial and viral disease, respond to hormones, and help the plant cope with drought and other stress. Snakins are research peptides and crop-protection tools; they are not approved medicines and have not been given to people as an approved treatment.
No established human dose Details ↓
Recommended Dosing
No established human dose
Snakins are plant research peptides and crop-protection tools; no snakin is an approved treatment. The work here is in plants, microbes and simulations at experimental amounts that do not carry over to people, so no amount is printed here.
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What is it?
Snakins are plant antimicrobial peptides with an unusually tough build. First described as Snakin-1 in the potato in 1999, they belong to the Snakin/GASA family and are found across vascular plants — potato, wheat, barley, tomato, and the Ziziphus jujube (the source of Snakin-Z). Each is small, around sixty-three amino acids, but carries twelve conserved cysteines that form up to six disulfide bonds, pinning the peptide into a thermostable scaffold that can survive autoclaving — a rare trait among peptides.
That rugged, strongly cationic structure is what makes snakins antimicrobial. They bind and break the membranes of bacteria and fungi, and computer simulations of Snakin-Z showed how: the helical-coil peptide, steered by key arginine and lysine residues, embeds in and disorders microbial membranes while being resisted by the cholesterol-rich membranes of red blood cells — which explains the family's characteristically low hemolysis and its selectivity for microbes over host cells. A wheat snakin, TdGASA2, kept its broad antibacterial activity against Listeria even after autoclaving and extended the shelf life of chicken when built into biodegradable packaging films.
In the plant, snakins are front-line defenders. Switching on and overexpressing tomato snakin-2 suppressed tomato mottle mosaic virus, likely by boosting the plant's lignin production, and overexpressing potato snakin-3 — made in the endoplasmic reticulum and switched on by pathogens and the hormone auxin — gave plants enhanced tolerance to the bacterial pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum. Their antimicrobial reach extends beyond crop pathogens to clinically relevant microbes, which has drawn interest in snakins as alternatives to conventional antibiotics against drug-resistant bugs.
Snakins are also woven into the plant's stress biology. A genome-wide survey of barley found eleven snakin/GASA genes, each with the family's twelve conserved cysteines and a secretory signal, and they were induced more strongly by environmental stress such as drought than by pathogens — placing snakins at the crossroads of immunity, hormone signalling and stress adaptation.
Through all of this, snakins remain research peptides and crop-protection tools. No snakin is an approved medicine, and material sold online under this name is an unregulated research chemical. Nothing here is a dose or a therapy; this page records what the published science says.
Mechanism of Action
Snakins are small (~63 aa) cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptides of the Snakin/GASA family, stabilised by up to six disulfide bonds into a heat-stable scaffold, that selectively bind and disrupt microbial membranes while sparing cholesterol-rich host membranes. They also act in plant disease defence, hormone signalling and stress tolerance.
Plant host defense
A ~63-residue cysteine-rich peptide with 12 conserved cysteines and up to 6 disulfide bonds, from potato, wheat, barley and tomato; heat-stable (PMID 37064004).
Selective membrane disruption
Binds and breaks microbial membranes while being resisted by cholesterol-rich host membranes, giving broad antibacterial and antifungal activity with low red-cell toxicity (PMIDs 40280870, 42551674).
Disease defence and stress signalling
Beyond killing microbes, snakins fight bacterial and viral plant disease and respond to hormones and environmental stress such as drought (PMIDs 42479019, 38302779, 37064004).
Published Research
These are studies of snakins read from their PubMed records on November 8, 2026: a wheat snakin in active food packaging against Listeria; a simulation of how Snakin-Z selects microbial over host membranes; snakin-2 in antiviral plant defence; potato snakin-3 against a bacterial pathogen; a review of the snakin family as antibiotic alternatives; and a genome-wide survey of barley snakin genes under drought. The evidence is in plants, microbes and simulations; no snakin is an approved treatment.
A wheat snakin in active food packaging against Listeria
The wheat snakin TdGASA2 showed broad antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, kept most of its potency after autoclaving, and extended the shelf life of chicken when built into chitosan-based biodegradable packaging films (an in-vitro and food-science study).
How Snakin-Z selects microbial over host membranes
Computer simulations showed that Snakin-Z, a helical-coil peptide steered by key arginine and lysine residues, embeds in and disorders microbial membranes while being resisted by the cholesterol-rich membranes of red blood cells, explaining its low hemolysis (a simulation study).
Snakin-2 in antiviral plant defence
Switching on and overexpressing tomato snakin-2 suppressed the accumulation of tomato mottle mosaic virus, an effect linked to boosted lignin production in the plant (a plant study).
Potato snakin-3 against a bacterial pathogen
Potato snakin-3 — made in the endoplasmic reticulum and switched on by pathogens and the hormone auxin — gave plants enhanced tolerance to the bacterial pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum when overexpressed (a plant study).
The snakin family as antibiotic alternatives
A review describes the snakin plant-antimicrobial-peptide family's activity against both plant pathogens and clinically relevant microbes and its potential as an alternative to conventional antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bugs (a review).
Barley snakin genes under drought stress
A genome-wide survey identified eleven barley snakin/GASA genes, each with twelve conserved cysteines and a secretory signal, that were induced more strongly by environmental stress such as drought than by pathogens (a genome-wide survey).
No Established Human Dose
Snakins are plant research peptides and crop-protection tools; no snakin is an approved treatment. The work here is in plants, microbes and simulations at experimental amounts that do not carry over to people, so no amount is printed here.
What this rests on: PMID 42551674, PMID 40280870, PMID 38302779.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
What a Buyer Needs to Know
What is sold, how it is mixed, stored and taken, and what is known about its safety, quality and legal status. Each part names its source. Where we have none, it says unknown.
What is sold
Unknown: we hold no label and no published test that says what forms or vial sizes Snakin is sold in. A vial's own label is a seller's claim, not a source.
Mixing a vial: a worked example
Unknown: no human dose of Snakin has been established (see No Established Human Dose below), so there is no amount to work out. The reconstitution calculator does the arithmetic for any vial, water and dose.
Storage before and after mixing
Unknown: no label or published stability study on file says how to store Snakin, before or after mixing. The mixing guide sets out the general rules, with their sources: keep a mixed vial in the fridge, and use it promptly, as the bacteriostatic water label says of any drug dissolved in it. The 28 days often quoted is the limit for an opened multiple-dose vial from a manufacturer, an outer limit set for sterility, not a time a mixed solution has been shown to keep. Nobody has published how long Snakin stays intact once mixed.
How it is taken
Unknown: with no established human dose, there is no established way of taking Snakin. What the human studies gave and how is set out under No Established Human Dose.
What to expect, and when
How long it stays in the body: a half-life of not established for humans; disulfide-stabilised and notably heat-stable. After about five half-lives almost none is left.
When effects appear: unknown; no source on this page gives a time to effect for Snakin. Results reported in the studies are under Published Research.
Source: half-life: PMID 37064004.
Side effects, and when to stop or get help
From the Side Effects section: No approved-treatment human safety data exist for snakins; Snakins disrupt microbial membranes but are relatively selective, with characteristically low hemolysis in the lab (PMID 40280870) — research findings, not approved-drug data; They act in plant hormone signalling and stress responses (PMIDs 38302779, 37064004), effects to weigh in any development; Material sold online as 'snakin' is an unregulated research chemical of unverified content. Full list and cautions ↓
When to stop or get help: unknown; no label or trial on file sets rules for stopping Snakin. Treat a severe or unexpected reaction as a reason to stop and see a doctor.
Source: the Side Effects section below (“Snakins are research peptides and no snakin is an approved treatment, so there is no established human safety profile; the points below reflect that status and their biology”).
Interactions
Unknown: a PubMed search for human interaction studies of Snakin (reviewed 2026-11-08) found none. Unknown is not the same as safe to combine.
Every peptide's record, with its source: the interaction matrix.
Checking what you bought
Unknown: no published independent test of Snakin products is in our lab-results database yet, so how products sold under this name measure up is not known.
To read a certificate of analysis, paste it into the COA decoder. Trust & Verification explains what independent testing can and cannot show.
Legal status
US: Research Chemical (Not approved drugs: Drugs@FDA and the openFDA label endpoint hold no record, and FDA GSRS and ChEMBL hold no approved-drug record for snakin (searched November 8, 2026)). Sport: Not on the 2026 List.
Country by country ↓ · Regulatory tracker
Source: this entry's approval status and the WADA Prohibited List, as in Legal Status below.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
Snakins are research peptides and no snakin is an approved treatment, so there is no established human safety profile; the points below reflect that status and their biology.
Contraindications & Cautions
Snakins have no approved use and no label. These points reflect their research status.
Legal Status
Snakins are plant antimicrobial peptides used as research compounds; they are not approved drugs in any country.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What is snakin?
A family of cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptides of the Snakin/GASA family, first described in the potato in 1999. Each is about 63 amino acids with twelve conserved cysteines and up to six disulfide bonds, making it heat-stable (PMID 37064004).
?How does it work?
By selectively binding and breaking microbial membranes while being resisted by cholesterol-rich host membranes, giving broad antibacterial and antifungal activity with low toxicity to blood cells (PMID 40280870). Snakins also act in plant disease defence and stress responses.
?Is it approved or available to buy?
No. Snakins are not approved medicines, have no FDA application or label, and are approved nowhere. Material sold online as a snakin is an unregulated research chemical. Grey Peptides lists no sellers and recommends no source; this page records the published science.
References
- [mechanism] Akacha BB, et al. "TdGASA2, a cysteine-rich Snakin/GASA protein from Triticum turgidum, enhances stress-mediated inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and improves the preservation performance of chitosan-based biodegradable active packaging films." Int J Biol Macromol, 2026;379:153761. PMID: 42551674.
- [mechanism] Kumar N, et al. "Membrane Selectivity Mechanisms of the Antimicrobial Peptide Snakin-Z Against Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Membrane Models." J Phys Chem B, 2025;129(18):4392-4409. PMID: 40280870.
- [mechanism] Li YY, et al. "Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analysis of resistant and susceptible tomato cultivars in response to tomato mottle mosaic virus and functional characterization of snakin-2 in viral defense." Plant Dis, 2026. PMID: 42479019.
- [mechanism] Nahirñak V, et al. "Unveiling the defensive role of Snakin-3, a member of the subfamily III of Snakin/GASA peptides in potatoes." Plant Cell Rep, 2024;43(2):47. PMID: 38302779.
- [review] Teker T, et al. "The Snakin Family of Antimicrobial Peptides: Promising Alternatives to Conventional Antibiotics." Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2026;19(5). PMID: 42198462.
- [mechanism] Panji A, et al. "Genome-wide identification and expression profiling of snakin/GASA genes under drought stress in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)." 3 Biotech, 2023;13(5):126. PMID: 37064004.
- [other] Snakins are cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptides of the Snakin/GASA family, first described as Snakin-1 from potato by Segura, Moreno, Madueno, Molina and Garcia-Olmedo (1999). Their structure, antimicrobial mechanism and plant roles are described in the studies carded on this page (read November 8, 2026).
- [other] US FDA, Drugs@FDA and the openFDA label endpoint, searched November 8, 2026: no application and no label record for snakin. It is a plant research peptide family, not an approved drug; FDA GSRS and ChEMBL hold no approved-drug record for it.
Sources & Citations
The six studies carded above were read from their PubMed records on November 8, 2026. Snakins' plant origin, their cysteine-rich heat-stable disulfide structure, their selective membrane-disrupting antimicrobial mechanism and low hemolysis, and their roles in plant disease defence, hormone signalling and stress tolerance are from the studies carded here; the family was first described as Snakin-1 from potato by Segura and colleagues (1999). The absence of US approval or a drug record from Drugs@FDA, openFDA, FDA GSRS and ChEMBL was checked the same day. Grey Peptides sells nothing and links to no vendor.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Talk to a licensed clinician about your own situation.