Haemolytic effect of Russell's viper venom on red blood cells

ABSTRACT

The red blood cells (RBC) of human and Wistar rats were incubated with 300 ng of Russell's viper venom (RVV) at 37 degree C. At different incubation times, there haemolytic effect of RVV was tested by estimating plasma haemoglobin (Hb) level and by performing osmotic fragility test. Five cases of human Russell's viper bite (RVB) victims with non-clotted blood were also studied. No significant haemolytic effect was observed on RBC obtained from Wistar rats. These results suggested that action of RVV may be species specific.