Ana Henao

Every year, over 4000 ophidian accidents take place in Colombia. The poor distribution and limited availability of antivenom have perpetuated the use of traditional medicine especially in rural communities. The medical care starts with the affected people receiving treatment by healers or shamans who use medicinal plants prepared in different ways. This investigation was undertaken by conducting enquiries to the renowned healers or plants connoisseurs about the ethnobotany of the ophidian accident. In addition, this study included their experience and the time they have used plants in curing bites or stings by poisonous animals. Furthermore, it embraced the plant species used and the amount applied, the ways of their preparation (maceration or decoction), some application techniques (beverage, bathing, poultice, vapors), and duration of treatment. 29 species of plants were collected and identified. 82.7% of them were native, 27.5% had not been previously reported as antiophidian, and 38% had been employed for this purpose in other geographical areas. Leaves (43.59%) and stems (23.08%) were the components most frequently used in the medicinal preparation, which is usually done by maceration (51.92%) or decoction (25.00%). Throughout this study related to the treatment of snakebite accident, species have been found without any ethnobotanical reports. Moreover, plants being described as new specie and herbs such as Plantago major (Plantaginaceae) used in the treatment of snakebites by many ethnic groups have been found. In addition, herbaceous such as Renealmia alpinia (Zingiberaceae), whose antiophidian activity has been experimentally proven through in vivo and in vitro assays, have been discovered too.

Antecedentes: el dimorfismo sexual en el tamaño de las serpientes está bien documentado, sin embargo el dimorfismo sexual en la forma ha sido pobremente estudiado. Dado que la dieta de las serpientes está limitada por el ancho de su hocico, identificar patrones de dimorfismo sexual en la forma y tamaño de la cabeza es útil para comprender mejor su historia de vida. Objetivo: detectar evidencias de dimorfismo sexual en el tamaño y forma de la cabeza de serpientes Mapaná (Bothrops asper) mantenidas bajo la misma dieta para determinar si su origen es genético o plástico. Métodos: se utilizó morfometría geométrica para cuantificar el tamaño y la forma de la cabeza de machos y hembras. Resultados: los resultados sugieren que la forma de la cabeza es sexualmente dimórfica, siendo más ancha en las hembras. En ambos sexos, la forma de la cabeza varió positivamente con la longitud hocico-cola (SVL). El tamaño de la cabeza también fue sexualmente dimórfico, siendo más grande en las hembras qu...

Background: The mahogany tree (Swietenia macrophylla King) is widely used in traditional medicine, especially its seeds, which are used in Malaysia, Indonesia and some countries of South America. Recently an active fraction of the leaf ethanolic extract (labelled " Sm13-16,23 "), showed promising results against some toxins of South American pit vipers. Objectives: In this study the aim was to evaluate the acute oral toxicity of fraction Sm13-16,23 from the leaf ethanolic extract, using Swiss Webster mice. Methods: Fraction Sm13-16,23 was administered orally in a single dose to 2000 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg, clinical follow-up for 14 days was performed and then euthanasia, necropsy and histopathology of organs were performed. Results: Overall, there were not deaths recorded during the study period. Further not signs of toxicity in doses of 300mg/kg were observed, but at doses of 2000 mg/kg, histopathological lesions in the liver, as karyomegaly and binucleation were observed. Conclusions: Fraction Sm13-16, 23 does not produce toxicity lesion at doses of 300mg/kg, indicating that the acute oral toxicity risk is low.

Citation/Citar este artículo como: Henao Duque AM, Núñez Rangel V. Maintenance of red-tail coral snake (Micrurus mipartitus) in captivity and evaluation of individual venom variability. Acta biol. ABSTRACT Red-tail coral snake (Micrurus mipartitus) is a long and thin bicolor coral snake widely distributed in Colombia and is the coral that causes the majority of accidents in the Andean region, so it is important to keep this species in captivity for anti-venom production and research. However, maintaining this species in captivity is very difficult because it refuses to feed, in addition to the high mortality rate due to maladaptation syndrome. In this study a force feeding diet, diverse substrates for maintenance and a milking technique were evaluated. Additionally, individual variability of the venom was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Coagulant, Anticoagulant and Hemolytic activities. The results of this study demonstrate that it was possible to increase the survival rate of this species in captivity and to determine some of the important factors in the maintenance. As to the individual variability of the venom, we found differences in number and intensity of peaks recovered by chromatography and also displayed variations in some of its biological activities. RESUMEN La coral " rabo de ají " es una coral bicolor larga y delgada. Esta especie está ampliamente distribuida en Colombia y es la coral que causa el mayor número de accidentes en la región Andina, por esto es importante mantener esta especie en cautiverio con fines de producción de antivenenos e investigación. No obstante, el mantenimiento de esta especie en cautiverio es difícil, debido a que se rehúsan a alimentarse voluntariamente y a que presentan alta mortalidad por el denominado síndrome de mal adaptación. En este estudio se evaluaron varios sustratos para el mantenimiento, además de una dieta forzada y una técnica de ordeño. Adicionalmente, se evaluó la variabilidad individual del veneno a través de cromatografía liquida de alta eficiencia (HPLC), electroforesis (SDS-PAGE) y las actividades coagulante, anticoagulante y hemolítica indirecta. Los resultados de este estudio demostraron que fue posible incrementar la sobrevivencia de esta especie en cautiverio, así como determinar algunos factores importantes en su mantenimiento. A partir de la evaluación del veneno se encontraron diferencias en el número y en la intensidad de picos en la cromatografía, así como en algunas de sus actividades biológicas.