Animal venoms are a mixture of peptides and proteins that serve two basic biological functions: predation and defense against both predators and microbes. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a common component extensively present in various scorpion venoms (herein abbreviated as svAMPs). However, their roles in predation and defense against predators and potential as drugs are poorly understood. ...

The anti scorpion venom activity of the Indian medicinal plant (Hemidesmus indicus, Pluchea indica and Aristolochia indica) root extracts (aqueous and methanol) was established in experimental animal models. Adult black scorpions (Heterometrous bengalensis) of both sexes were collected and the Scorpion Venom (SV) was collected by electrical stimulation, pooled, lyophilized and stored at 4 °C. S...

The venoms of Buthidae scorpions are known to contain basic, single-chain protein -toxins consisting of 60-70 amino acid residues that are tightly cross-linked by four disulfide bridges. Total RNA was extracted from the venom glands of scorpion Mesobuthus eupeus collected from the Khuzestan province of Iran and then cDNA was synthesized with the modified oligo (dT) primer and extracted total R...

The subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) includes small variegated species considered until recently, a basal group within Tityus, one of the most diverse and medically relevant genera scorpions in New World. Archaeotityus are distributed humid forests Lower Central America Choco, Guiana Shield, Amazonian regions. Due to their size habits, not usually dangerous, however, there some clinical reports ...

Background: Poisoning due to the bites and stings of venomous snakes and scorpions is a neglected public health problem, particularly in rural areas. Poor health facilities and inadequate knowledge of health care personnel are the major factors that result in envenomated human victims not receiving adequate care and medical attention. There is a great need for up-to-date and effective healthcar...

BACKGROUND The different features of scorpions can be successfully described by their nesting and burrowing behaviors. There is little information about burrowing activity of Iranian scorpions. METHODS The current study was performed to compare the burrowing behavior between two burrowing Iranian scorpions, Scorpio maurus and Odonthubutus bidentatus by describing 30 nests of each species rega...

Khuzestan province has the highest rate of scorpion sting in Iran. This is a study to identify these scorpions in Khuzestan. In this study 418 scorpions were kept in the ethyl alcohol 70%, each being studied by stereomicroscopy and diagnosis key separately. 120 (28.7%) Androctonus crassicauda, 104 (24.9%) Hemiscorpius lepturus, 91 (21.7%) Mesobuthus eupeus, 86 (20.65%) Compsobuthus matthiesseni...

Gene families, which encode toxins, are found in many poisonous animals, yet there is limited understanding of their evolution at the nucleotide level. The release of the genome draft sequence for the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis enabled a comprehensive study of a gene family whose neurotoxin products affect voltage-gated sodium channels. All gene family members are clustered in a highly ...