Comparison of proteins, lethality and immunogenic compounds of Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) venom obtained by different methods

Abstract

Scorpions are venomous arthropods of the class Arachnida and are considered relatives of spiders, ticks and mites. There are approximately 1,500 species of scorpions worldwide, which are characterized by an elongated body and a segmented tail that ends in a venomous stinger. No specific treatment is available for scorpion envenomation, except for the use of antivenom. The current study aimed at comparing protein content and lethality of Androctonus crassicauda venom extracted by two different methods (electric stimulation and maceration of telsons). The LD50 calculated by probit analysis was 1.1mg/kg for venom obtained by electric stimulation and 39.19mg/kg for venom obtained by maceration of telsons. In the electrophoretic analysis, protein bands of the venom sample obtained by electric stimulation were between 12 and 53kDa (total: five bands), and those of venom extracted by maceration appeared as multiple protein bands, relative to the other venom sample. Low-molecular-weight proteins, revealed by western blotting, played an important immunogenic role in the production of antivenom. Lethality and protein levels varied according to the extraction method; venom obtained by the maceration technique showed lower toxicity than that obtained by electric stimulation

Comparison between two methods of scorpion venom milking in Morocco

“…[12], found that the LD 50 of A . crassicauda venom obtained by electric stimulation was 0.64 mg/kg, whereas Latoxan Laboratory reported an LD 50 of 0.87 mg/kg for the same venom obtained by the same method [13]. However, Altinkurt and Altan [14] reported that the LD 50 of A. crassicauda venom was 11.5 mg/kg by the maceration method.…”

Determination of median effective dose (ED50) of scorpion antivenom against scorpion envenomation using a newly developed formula

“…Scorpion antivenom has preventive, neutralizing, and curative properties against M. eupeus scorpionism if applied at optimum time, dose and route . The LD 50 of A. crassicauda venom has been estimated as 1.1 mg/kg by electrical stimulation and 39.19 mg/kg by maceration of telson . This venom has the lowest elimination rate among all known scorpion venoms, making it highly toxic.…”

“…A random search of the literature, including journals, textbooks, books of abstracts, conference proceedings, and other periodicals, was conducted to establish the species of poisonous scorpions, their venoms, antivenoms, median lethal doses (LD 50 ), median effective doses (ED 50 ), their immunogenic reactions and the formulas used for calculation of both LD 50 and ED 50 . The following four formulas were extracted.…”

“…Body weights and body surface areas of animals and humans were taken from Reagan‐Shaw et al and USEPA . The ED 50 s for antivenom against M. eupeus , A. crassicauda and T. pachyurus have been established, but were recalculated using the new and HED formulas. The routes of administration are indicated in Table .…”

Mesobuthus eupeus ve Mesobuthus gibbosus Akrep Venom Proteinlerinin Elektroforetik Karşılaştırılması

“…Therefore stings by Mesobuthus species are more frequent than those by other scorpion species [6][7][8][9][10] . In many studies, gel electrophoresis, electrofocusing or liquid chromatography have already been used to detection of protein pattern of animal venoms, even if the relatively low resolution of the analytical methods 3,5 .…”