Many medicinal plants have been recommended for the treatment of snakebites. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of dried seed powder of Tamarindus indica were tested for their antioxidant and inhibitory activity of toxic enzymes like PLA2 and proteinases of Naja naja venom. Compared with alcoholic extracts the methanolic extract, displayed a significant inhibitory effect on the tested enzyme activi...

The cardiotoxin analogue III (CTX III), isolated from the Taiwan cobra (Naja naja atra) venom, is a sixty-amino acid, all beta-sheet protein. We report the direct expression of CTX III from its synthetic gene as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The yield of the expressed protein is about 40 mg/liter of the culture. CTX III trapped as inclusion bodies is dissolved and refolded by the slow r...

A series of structurally modified phospholipids have been used to delineate the structural features involved in the interaction between cobra venom (Naja naja naja) phospholipase A2 and its substrate. Special emphasis has been placed on sn-2 amide analogues of the phospholipids. These studies have led to a very potent, reversible phospholipase A2 inhibitor. A six-step synthesis of this compound...

abstract cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. current anticancer drugs involve various toxic side effects; efforts are ongoing to develop new anticancer agents especially from the screening of natural compounds. present study investigated cytotoxic effects and mode of cell death induced by the caspian cobra venom in some human cancer cell lines. cytotoxic effects of snake venom toxin...

In the present study, the histopathological and Ultrastructural changes occurring in the renal cortical cells of rats following intramuscular injection of 1⁄8 LD50 (0.0625 mg/kg body weight) of cobra (Naja haje) crude venom were investigated with the light and transmission electron microscopes. Tissues were obtained for investigation at 4 h, 8 h and 12 h time intervals following injection of th...

We have identified, purified, and determined the complete amino acid sequence of a novel protein, ohanin from Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra) venom. It is a small protein containing 107 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 11951.47 +/- 0.67 Da as assessed by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. It does not show similarity to any known families of snake venom proteins and hence is ...