INTERACTION AQUEOUS EXTRACT FROM Schizolobium parahyba/Bothrops alternatus SNAKE VENOM IN THE ANTIPOISON PRODUCTION

VALE L. H. F. (1), PINTO J. S. (1), MENDES M. M. (1), RODRIGUES V. M. (1), HAMAGUCHI A. (1), HOMSI-BRANDEBURGO M. I. (1)

(1) Laboratório de Toxinas Animais e Inibidores, Instituto de Genética e Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brasil

The treatment against envenomation by snakebite is made with antibodies antipoison produced in animals as horses and goats. One of the problems in this production is suffer the used animals with the consecutive immunizations, beyond having a reduced time of life accurately for the toxicity of the used antigen. To decrease these damages in the present work we use the crude aqueous extract of Schizolobium parahyba (AE), in the attempt to produce an antiserum from the complex extract/venom of the Bothrops alternatus venom (CV). The challenge for the production of antibodies for CV was made for (group 1); CV + AE (group 2) and AE (group 3). Six male rabbits New Zealand (3kg) had been used and distributed for each group (two animals for group). Each animal received six inoculations in intervals of seven days. In the first inoculation the samples of each group had been mixed with complete Freud’s adjuvant and the others inoculations with incomplete Freud’s adjuvant (1:3 v/v, antigen/adjuvant). Were used 400 mg of CV (group 1); 400 mg of CV + 4000 mg of AE (group 2) and 4000 mg of AE (group 3) in a final volume of 400 ml. The applications had been made in four equidistant places of the animal. The control of plasmatic antibodies levels was made by immunodifusion gel agarose (1.25%). Gels had been prepared to test the levels of antibodies of each animal, applying for all groups as antigen CV, CV/AE and AE. For group 1 the production of antibodies was positive, but for group 2 and 3 it did not occur. In this way AE inhibited the production of antibodies of group 2 and alone did not develop immune response (group 3). An interesting fact was observed in the immunodifusions where AE was present with the antigen. It increased the reaction antigen/antibody improving the visualization of the precipitation complex lines.

CORRESPONDENCE TO: homsi@ufu.br