Effect of Androctonus bicolor scorpion venom on the activities of serum enzymes in rats.

We studied the effects of black fat-tailed scorpion (Androctonus bicolor) venom on the activities of liver enzymes including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) in the sera of rats. The animals were subcutaneously injected with a single dose of crude Androctonus bicolor venom (200 μg/kg bodyweight) and were sacrificed at different time intervals including 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h and 24 h after venom injection. There was no significant change in ALT activity in rats injected with Androctonus bicolor venom. Although Androctonus bicolor venom did not produce any change in serum AST activity until 1 h post-dosing, it significantly decreased this enzyme activity at 2 h onwards. There were significant decreases in ALP activities throughout the study though mild surges in the enzyme activity were observed at 1 h and 8 h post-dosing. There was a continued significant decrease in serum LDH activity until 8 h after Androctonus bicolor venom injection followed by normalization of LDH activity at 24 h. The activities of serum CK and GGT were significantly decreased at all the time points following Androctonus bicolor envenomation in rats. In conclusion, Androctonus bicolor envenomation in rats significantly reduced the activities of serum enzymes including AST, ALP, LDH, CK and GGT. Androctonus bicolor venom induced hypomagnesemia may account for persistently reduced activities of liver enzymes due to the cofactor role of magnesium in enzyme activities.