Edematogenic and myotoxic activities of the Duvernoy?s gland secretion of the Philodryas olfersii from the noth-east of Argentina

O. ACOSTA DE PEREZ; L. LEIVA DE VILA; M.E. PEICHOTO; S. MARUÑAK; R. RUIZ; P. TEIBLER; C. GAY; L. REY

BIOCELL

Instituto de Histologia y Embriologia Mendoza-CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2003 vol. 27 p. 363 - 370

0327-9545

Philodryas olfersii is found in South America, from Amazonas to Patagonia. It is important to characterize the venom of P. olfersii, who inhabits the North-East region of Argentina, since snake venoms are known to exhibit considerable variability in composition and biological activities. In this work, mice weighing 18-20 g (n = 4, for each experimental group) were used. For the edematogenic activity mice were injected s.c. in the right foot pad with 50 µl of solutions containing different amounts of venom, whereas the left foot pad was injected with 50 µl of PBS. Two hours after injection mice were killed by cervical dislocation and both feet were cut off and weighed individually. For the myotoxic activity mice were injected i.m. with 100 µl of solutions containing 40 µg of venom. Blood samples were extracted after 1; 3; 6; 8; 10; 12; 14; 16 and 24 h of venom injection to determinate serum CK activity and  mice were sacrificed at the same time intervals to obtain the inoculated gastrocnemius muscle. They were fixed with Bouin solution and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin. Results showed that P. olfersii venom exhibits a high edematogenic activity (MED = 0.31 µg) and a moderate myotoxic activity. Myonecrosis reached its highest level after 12 h of venom injection as shown by plasmatic CK levels (5401 ± 330 IU/l) and microscopic assay. It demonstrates the potential toxicity of the venom of P. olfersii, who inhabits the North-East region of Argentina. It also reinforces the original warning concerning the potential danger of bites by colubrids.