CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

We report a study of toxic and enzymatic activities of Bothrops neuwiedi complex venomscollected from specimens of different regions of Argentina and a pool of these samevenoms. Were determined lethal, hemorrhagic and pro-coagulant (plasma and fibrinogen)doses and the neutralization of these activities by a bivalent antivenom. The electrophoreticpattern of different regions venom was studied by SDS?PAGE. All samples exhibitedlethal potencies, hemorrhagic and coagulant (plasma and fibrinogen) activities withpotencies concordant with previous studies. The only conspicuous difference in the toxicologicalpattern of Bothrops diporus venoms was the low-thrombin-like activity found inone sample. The antivenom used in this study could neutralize all the toxic activities testedand the neutralizing potency of the antivenom was comparable for all samples. Despite thewide distribution of B. neuwiedi complex throughout Argentina and the evidentmorphological variation between B. diporus (B. neuwiedi complex), this study establishesa remarkably similar toxicity profile throughout its range. This is the first systematic studyon the regional variation of enzymatic and toxic activities of venom from species belongingto the B. neuwiedi complex, one of the snakes of highest sanitary importance in SouthAmerica and their neutralization by the type of antivenom most commonly used in theSouth of South America.