Planta Med. 1994 Apr; 60(2): 99-100.

Pharmacological screening of plants recommended by folk medicine as snake venom antidotes; IV. Protection against jararaca venom by isolated constituents.

Pereira NA, Pereira BM, do Nascimento MC, Parente JP, Mors WB.

Departamento de Farmacologia, CCS-ICB, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

Fifteen compounds, isolated from plants reputed as snake venom antidotes, belonging to different classes of natural products, were shown to protect mice to a significant degree against the lethal action of the venom of Bothrops jararaca snakes. Administration was by the oral route, one hour prior to envenomation. The substances are nitrogen-free, low-molecular-weight compounds for which some kind of biodynamic activity has previously been reported. The fact that they are mostly trivial, naturally-occurring compounds should explain why plants used as snake-bite antidotes are so widely distributed over the plant kingdom.