Table 2 The brine shrimp cytotoxicity profile of Naja ashei venom, two commercial antivenoms, and vincristine sulphate (standard cytotoxic agent)
Sample | Duration of exposure | Mortality per test dose | LC50 (µg/ml) | Toxicity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 µg/ml | 100 µg/ml | 1000 µg/ml | Meyer’s toxicity index [16] | Clarkson’s toxicity index [20] | |||
Vincristine sulphate (positive control) | 24 | 0 | 30 | 46 | 171.83 | Toxic | Highly toxic |
48 | 35 | 50 | 50 | 2.10 | Toxic | Highly toxic | |
72 | 50 | 50 | 50 | All died | Toxic | Highly toxic | |
Antivenom I | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No mortality | Non toxic | Non toxic |
48 | 11 | 8 | 29 | 2346.23 | Non toxic | Non toxic | |
72 | 13 | 9 | 29 | 5268.05 | Non toxic | Non toxic | |
Antivenom II | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No mortality | Non toxic | Non toxic |
48 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 599,484,250.30 | Non toxic | Non toxic | |
72 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 1622.89 | Non toxic | Non toxic | |
Naja ashei venom | 24 | 0 | 48 | 50 | 63.02 | Toxic | Highly toxic |
48 | 26 | 50 | 50 | 4.73 | Toxic | Highly toxic | |
72 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 0.15 | Toxic | Highly toxic | |