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Antibacterial activity of snake, scorpion and bee venoms: a comparison with purified venom phospholipase A 2 enzymes
Author(s) -
Perumal Samy R.,
Gopalakrishnakone P.,
Thwin M.M.,
Chow T.K.V.,
Bow H.,
Yap E.H.,
Thong T.W.J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.03161.x
Subject(s) - venom , scorpion , enzyme , bee venom , biology , phospholipase , phospholipase a2 , phospholipase a , microbiology and biotechnology , scorpion venoms , biochemistry , chemistry , toxicology , zoology
Aims: Venoms of snakes, scorpions, bees and purified venom phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ) enzymes were examined to evaluate the antibacterial activity of purified venom enzymes as compared with that of the crude venoms. Methods and Results: Thirty‐four crude venoms, nine purified PLA 2 s and two l ‐amino acid oxidases (LAAO) were studied for antibacterial activity by disc‐diffusion assay (100 μ g ml −1 ). Several snake venoms ( Daboia russelli russelli , Crotalus adamanteus , Naja sumatrana , Pseudechis guttata , Agkistrodon halys , Acanthophis praelongus and Daboia russelli siamensis ) showed activity against two to four different pathogenic bacteria. Daboia russelli russelli and Pseudechis australis venoms exhibited the most potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus , while the rest showed only a moderate activity against one or more bacteria. The order of susceptibility of the bacteria against viperidae venoms was – S. aureus > Proteus mirabilis > Proteus vulgaris > Enterobacter aerogenes > Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli . The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against S. aureus was studied by dilution method (160–1·25 μ g ml −1 ). A stronger effect was noted with the viperidae venoms (20 μ g ml −11 ) as compared with elapidae venoms (40 μ g ml −1 ). The MIC were comparable with those of the standard drugs (chloramphenicol, streptomycin and penicillin). Conclusion: The present findings indicate that viperidae ( D. russelli russelli ) and elapidae ( P. australis ) venoms have significant antibacterial effects against gram (+) and gram (−) bacteria, which may be the result of the primary antibacterial components of laao , and in particular, the PLA 2 enzymes. The results would be useful for further purification and characterization of antibacterial agents from snake venoms. Significance and Impact of the Study: The activity of LAAO and PLA 2 enzymes may be associated with the antibacterial activity of snake venoms.