Around the world and especially in summer, the scorpion envenomation is a real public health problem. In Morocco, its gravity is due to the diversity of genera of the Buthidae family whose their venom is potentially lethal, mainly the genus Androctonus, Buthus and Hottentota. The areas most affected by this problematic are the central and southern of Morocco. The lethality of scorpion's venom p...

Scorpions are nocturnal arthropods that inject their venom through the victims' skin by stingers. By the envenomation, clinical manifestations in a wide spectrum may occur, including pain at one side and death because of severe cardiopulmonary or neurological abnormalities. Sometimes the victim cannot describe the insect or does not remember even being stung after the event. We present two case...

Venom from male and female specimens of the medically important Venezuelan scorpion Tityus nororientalis have been compared. Males showed a significantly higher venom yield (2.39mg/individual) compared to female scorpions (0.98mg/individual). Female venom was significantly more toxic than that of males, with a median lethal dose (LD(50)) in C57BL/6 mice of 9.46 μg venom protein/gm body weight [...

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico. The ecosystem of this region composed large area bushes, forests, and grasslands, which allows for a specific diversity fauna; among them are interesting species non-lethal scorpions. Most Chihuahuan scorpions have been previously morphologically molecularly described; however, manuscript could be first to describe composition those venoms. This work ai...

Scorpions sometimes capture and crush prey with their pedipalps and do not use their sting t o inject venom . Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that sting use is selective, resulting in conservation of venom . Sting use in relation to prey size and activity was studied in two African scorpions, Parabuthus liosoma and P. pallidus . Restrictive use of the sting was observed in bot...

The number of cases of envenomation by scorpions has grown significantly in Brazil since 2007, with the most severe cases being caused by the Tityus serrulatus scorpion. Although envenomed patients mostly suffer neurotoxic manifestations, other symptoms, such as hypertension, cannot be exclusively attributed to neurotoxins. Omics analyses have detected plentiful amounts of metalloproteases in T...

Spider venoms are complex cocktails rich in peptides, proteins and organic molecules that collectively act to immobilize prey. Venoms of the primitive hunting spider, Plectreurys tristis, have numerous neurotoxic peptides called "plectoxins" (PLTX), a unique acylpolyamine called bis(agmatine)oxalamide, and larger unidentified protein components. These spiders also have unconventional multi-lobe...

The processes that drive the evolution of snake venom variability, particularly the role of diet, have been a topic of intense recent research interest. Here, we test whether extensive variation in venom composition in the medically important viper genus Echis is associated with shifts in diet. Examination of stomach and hindgut contents revealed extreme variation between the major clades of Ec...

Background: To explore the oral absorption of scorpion venom an ELISA were designed in this study. Scorpions and their venom were been used for centuries as medical treatments in traditional medicine. The oral administration of drug referred as the convenient way, as there was not any publication about gastro-intestinal absorption of scorpion venom; this experiment checked oral absorption of Me...