Compositional and toxicological investigation of pooled venom from farm-raised Naja atra.

BACKGROUND

Naja atra is a venomous snake species medically relevant in China. In the current study, we evaluated the composition and toxicological profile of venom collected from farm-raised N. atra.

METHODS

Venom was collected from third-generation captive bred N. atra on a snake farm in Hunan Province, China. The venom was analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and nano-liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, hemolytic activity, median lethal dose, serum biochemical and histopathological parameters were accessed.

RESULTS

N. atra venom proteome was dominated by phospholipase A2 (46.5%) and three-finger toxins (41.4 %), and a set of common low relative abundance proteins, including cysteine-rich secretory proteins (4.7%), NGF-beta (2.4%), snake venom metalloproteinase (1.5%), glutathione peroxidase (0.6%), vespryn (0.3%), and 5'-nucleotidases (0.2%) were also found. Furthermore, the venom exhibited direct hemolytic activity, neurotoxicity, myotoxicity, and high lethal potency in mice, with a subcutaneous median lethal dose of 1.02 mg/kg. Histopathological analysis and serum biochemical tests revealed that venom caused acute hepatic, pulmonary and renal injury in mice.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the composition and toxicity of venom collected from farm-raised N. atra, thereby providing a reference for the analysis of venom samples collected from captive-born venomous snakes in the future.