Ethnomedical Treatment of Poisonous Snakebites: Plant Extract NeutralizedNaja nigricollis. Venom

Abstract

The neutralizing effects of methanol extracts of Indigofera pulchra Willd (Papilionaceae), Aristolochia albida Duch (Aristolochiaceae), Guiera senegalense J.F.Gmel (Combretaceae), and Sterculia setigera K. Schum (Sterculiaceae) were investigated to validate traditional claims of usefulness of the plants in management of poisonous snakebites. Extracts of Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida gave 33.3% and 44.4% protection to mice treated with minimum lethal dose of venom; some gross pathologic symptoms of envenomation were alleviated. However, minimal activities were shown by Guiera senegalense and Sterculia setigera. Both Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida were found to neutralize the anticoagulant, hemolytic, and phospholipase activity of crude venom. This study showed that Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida are useful in some pathologic effects of Naja nigricollis Broadley (Elapidae) venom, and this provides some scientific basis for the use of the plants in management of poisonous snakebites.

Regeneration and plantlet development from somatic tissues of Aristolochia fimbriata

“…The potent toxins found in Aristolochia offer promise in specific applications, including antivenom (Abubakar et al 2006;Jimenez-Ferrer et al 2005;Otero et al 2000), antibacterial (Gadhi et al 2001a(Gadhi et al , b, 1999, antifertility (Gupta et al 1996;Pakrashi and Chakrabarty 1978;Pakrashi and Pakrasi 1979), cytotoxic (Hinou et al 1990; Kupchan and Doskotch 1962), antimicrobial or trypanocidal (Abe et al 2002;Elizabeth and Raju 2006;Kumar et al 2006), and insecticidal (Broussalis et al 1999;Jbilou et al 2006;Lajide et al 1993;Nascimento et al 2004). …”

Herbal Treatment of Scorpion Envenomation: Plant Extracts Inhibited Opisthacanthus Capensis Venom Phospholipase A2 Activity

“…This implies that the plant extracts have the potential to reduce the ability of PLA 2 to cause haemolysis of red blood cells, anticoagulant action and cardiotoxicity [30,31].…”

Cross-cultural comparison of medicinal floras used against snakebites

“…The use of plants is a major part of the traditional practitioners' treatment and they have extensive knowledge of which plant species are useful against snakebites (Houghton and Osibogun, 1993;Mors et al, 2000). Several plant compounds, such as aristolochic acid from Aristolochia species, are known to be inhibitors of enzymes of the classes found in venom (Houghton and Osibogun, 1993;Melo et al, 1993;Otero et al, 2000b;Januário et al, 2004;Murari et al, 2005;Abubakar et al, 2006;Machiah et al, 2006). Plants used in traditional medicine systems should therefore be investigated for possible beneficial effects.…”