Ethnomedical treatment of poisonous snakebites: Plant extract neutralized Naja nigricollis venom

Abstract

The neutralizing effects of methanol extracts of Indigofera pulchra Willd (Papilionaceae), Aristolochia albida Duch (Aristolochiaceae), Guiera senegalense J.F.Gmel (Combretaceae), and Sterculia setigera K. Schum (Sterculiaceae) were investigated to validate traditional claims of usefulness of the plants in management of poisonous snakebites. Extracts of Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida gave 33.3% and 44.4% protection to mice treated with minimum lethal dose of venom; some gross pathologic symptoms of envenomation were alleviated. However, minimal activities were shown by Guiera senegalense and Sterculia setigera . Both Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida were found to neutralize the anticoagulant, hemolytic, and phospholipase activity of crude venom. This study showed that Indigofera pulchra and Aristolochia albida are useful in some pathologic effects of Naja nigricollis Broadley (Elapidae) venom, and this provides some scientific basis for the use of the plants in management of poisonous snakebites. © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.