Comparison of venom from wild and long-term captive Gloydius caucasicus and the neutralization capacity of antivenom produced in rabbits immunized with captive venom

Abstract

Gloydius caucasicus (NIKOLSKY, 1916) is a member of the Viperidae family in Iran. Comprehensive understanding of the toxigenic characteristics of snake venom is important for clinical monitoring of snakebite patients and effective therapy. We compared the toxic activities of venoms and the neutralization capacity of antivenoms produced with venoms from wild adult (WA) with long-term captive adult (LCA) of G. caucasicus in order to obtain more effective antivenom from LCA in therapy, and subsequently protect G. caucasicus from overharvesting for its venom, which poses a real threat of extinction for the species. Our results showed that LD 50 of WA and LCA were 16.8 μg/dose and 17.7 μg/dose, respectively. Lower hemorrhagic and necrotic (p ≥ 0.05), and higher coagulative and edematogenic activities (p ≤ 0.05) were observed in WA compared with LCA venom. Also, captive-born neonates exhibited weaker toxic activities compared with captive adult snakes, which could be an age-related difference. Study data illustrated that effective capacity of LCA antivenom to neutralize the toxic activities of WA viper venom. According to the results, about 0.4–4 μl of LCA antivenom is required to neutralize the toxic activities of 1 μg of WA venom, indicating its efficacy in treatment of snakebites in humans. On this basis, it is recommended that capture of wild snakes for their venom be discontinued to reduce their future extinction risk.

Artificial incubation of eggs of the Eastern Montpellier Snake (Malpolon insignitus) and physical abnormalities in hatchlings

“…For purposes of conservation or research, some species of wildlife are bred in captivity. For instance, when the number of individuals of a species is rapidly decreasing or the species is at risk of extinction, captive breeding could provide sufficient numbers for increasing natural populations, reintroduction to new or formerly occupied habitats, and for conservationmanagement studies (Kian 2011;Rasoulinasab et al 2020). In addition, captive breeding can yield important information on the reproductive biology of the studied species, and captive-breeding programs allow the study of certain aspects of the physiology and behavior of endangered species without affecting wild populations (Fraser 2008).…”