ABSTRACT
The study was done to investigate the anti-venom activity of Mucuna pruriens leaves extract against cobra snake (Naja hannah) venom. Study Design: The mice were randomly grouped into six groups (A, B, C, D, E, and F) of five rats each. Group A served as the normal control (no induction), and the mice in the group were given normal saline (1ml/kg/body weight).Group B served as the test control (snake venom was induced but no treatment administered), Group C served as the standard control (snake venom was induced and treated with antivenin, a standard drug), Group D, E and F were all induced with the cobra snake venom and treated with ethanolic extracts of the leaves of M. pruriens for 14 days. Methodology: The induction with cobra snake venom was done with 0.075mg/kg b.w of venom and thereafter the treatment with M. pruriens extract for Group D, E and F were done with 40 mg/ kg, 60 mg/ kg and 80 mg/ kg respectively intraperitoneally in the mice. Serum blood of the animals was used to assay for total cholesterol, bilirubin, AST, ALT, GSH and catalase levels after 14days. Result: The injection of crude venom of cobra snake (Naja hannah) caused an increase in cholesterol, AST, ALT, bilirubin, catalase and glutathione in envenomated mice which significantly reduced (p<0.05) compared to all the controls after 14 days of treatment with the extract. Conclusion: The results suggests that 80 mg/ kg of the plant extract is more effective than the standard drug, therefore M. pruriens leaves has a greater anti-venom potential for curing snake bite, than antivenin.
ABSTRACT
Evaluate the influences of some factors as enzyme level, the time of diluting enzyme solution, substrate level and temperature on pH value of RNase from Vietnam Cobra (Naja naja) venom. Results: the changes of pH value for cobra venom RNase can be depended on concentrations of the enzyme and substrate. This variation in the pH value of the enzyme can be explained by existence of this RNase as an enzyme system composed of some interconvertible forms. The interconversion between these enzyme forms is very slow process (counting by hours) in comparison with the rate of reactions
Subject(s)
Elapidae , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , RibonucleasesABSTRACT
The immunohistochemical expression of neuron-specific enolase, NSE (a cytoplasmic glycolytic enzyme of the neurons), synaptophysin, SYN (a major membrane glycoprotein of synaptic vesicles), and Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic protein) were determined in cerebral cortex of rats envenomed with neurotoxic venom from Egyptian cobra. Male rats were intramuscularly (IM) injected with a single injection of either physiological saline solution or ® LD50 or LD50 of cobra venom and sacrificed 24, 48, or 72 hr after envenoming. Formalin-fixed paraffin sections were immunohistochemically studied by avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method. Neuron histological structure and isolation of genomic DNA were also detected. The results showed a dose and time-dependent increase in NSE and SYN immunoreactivity in cerebral cortex of envenomed rats except in 72 hr high dose envenoming, where decreased SYN was observed. On the other hand, low dose venom induced high Bcl-2 expression 24 hr after envenoming, while the high dose decreased Bcl-2 protein expression. Temporal and spatial Bcl-2 expression was accompanied by DNA fragmentation in cerebral cortex of all envenomed rats, although no serious histological alterations were noticed. These results suggest that cobra venom may lead to neuronal injury and impairment of axonal transport as ascertained by alterations in NSE and SYN immunoreactivity. It could also indicate that venom alters the molecular machinery of apoptosis by inhibiting Bcl-2 expression; however, some vulnerable cells have the ability to overcome this by increasing Bcl-2 protein. These immunohistochemical investigations can be used as tools for detecting neuronal abnormalities even before the occurrence of any histological alterations in case of cerebral cortex neurotoxicity.(AU)