Histological Study on the Protective Effects of Tamarind Seed Extract on Cobra Venom in Mice

Abstract

Objective: Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) has been used as a medical plant for treating many human and animal diseases and widely used as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of snake bites. The objective of the study is to investigate whether tamarind seed extract (TSE) has neutralization activity on an adverse histological reaction against venoms of the King Cobra.Methods: A total of 20 healthy mature male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups with 5 mice in each. The control group was injected with 1 ml of normal saline. The second group was injected subcutaneously with a single dose of 24.96 μg/20 g King Cobra venom (KCV) solution. The third group was injected with the same dose of KCV solution and 10 mg/20 g of TSE. The fourth group was injected with the same dose of KCV solution and 15 mg/20 g TSE solution. The animals were sacrificed after 24 hrs of injection of the solution. Fragments of muscle, kidney, and liver were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed for light microscopical studies.Results: The result showed that TSE reduced the histopathological changes induced by the KCV in the muscles, livers, and kidneys, and the improvement was proportional to the applied dose of the TSE indicating that TSE prevents adverse histological changes in the muscle, liver, and kidney.Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that TSE reduced the histopathological changes in the muscle, liver, and kidney induced by KCV in mice.

Assessing the Efficacy of Monovalent and Commercialized Antivenoms for Neutralizing Moroccan Cobra Naja haje Venom: A Comparative Study

“…This was characterized by dilation of Bowman's space, edema in the cortex and medulla, and congestion and dilation of the distal and proximal tubules. Renal alterations are similar to those observed in Naja nigricollis, Naja Haje, and Ophiophagus hannah venoms have been reported, which induce morphological changes in the renal glomeruli resulting in complete lysis of renal corpuscles with rupture of Bowman capsules and acute tubular necrosis [39,42]. These renal abnormalities can be attributed to the higher absorption of the venom in the kidneys of the animals, as previously demonstrated with Naja nigricollis venom leading to renal abnormalities.…”

“…Microscopic analysis of the livers of mice envenomed mice revealed alterations in liver tissue characterized by ballooning and cytoplasmic vacuolation of hepatocytes and dilation of the sinusoidal vessel. Studies have reported envenomation with Naja naja [ 36 ], the royal coba Ophiophagus hannah [ 42 ], and Walterinnesia aegyptia [ 43 ]. According to the results of Tohamy and coworkers’ study [ 44 ], the effect of PLA 2 from the venom Naja haje could be among the factors responsible for the rupture of liver cell membranes, as seen in the present study.…”