Biological characterization of the Bothrops brazili snake venom and its neutralization by Brazilian Bothrops antivenom produced by the Butantan Institute.

We evaluated the ability of the Bothrops antivenom produced by the Butantan Institute to neutralize the lethal, hemorrhagic, myotoxic and phospholipase A2 activities induced by B. brazili venom from Rondônia state, Brazil, and verified its cross-reactivity against this venom. This antivenom neutralized the cited biological activities. It also showed cross-reactivity with this venom, and preferentially recognized components with a relative mass above 66 kDa. Our results suggest that Brazilian Bothrops antivenom can be used in B. brazili envenomation in this region.

Use of freeze-dried trivalent antivenom to neutralize the toxic activities of Bothrops atrox snake venoms from the Amazon.

In Brazil, antivenom for snakebite is currently formulated in liquid form and requires storage at 4 °C. Here, a new freeze-dried trivalent antivenom, which would enable cold-chain free storage, was determined to have efficacy in neutralizing the biological activities of Bothrops atrox venoms from Manaus (Brazil) and Leticia (Colombia), exhibiting an efficacy similar to those of currently available liquid Bothrops antivenoms. These results indicate that freeze-dried trivalent antivenom may be beneficial for applications in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon regions.

Neutralization of hemostatic disorders induced by Lachesis muta venom using Brazilian antivenoms.

We characterized the hemorrhagic, coagulant and defibrinogenant activities of Lachesis muta venom and evaluated the capacity of the Brazilian antivenoms in neutralizing these activities. The hemorrhagic activity of L. muta venom was similarly neutralized by Bothrops, Bothrops-Lachesis and Bothrops-Crotalus antivenoms. The coagulant and defibrinogenant activities were better neutralized by the Bothrops-Lachesis antivenom. Bothrops-Crotalus antivenom also neutralized these activities, indicating that it can be an alternative to treat Lachesis envenomations when Bothrops-Lachesis antivenom is unavailable.

Use of freeze-dried trivalent antivenom to neutralize the toxic activities of Bothrops atrox snake venoms from the Amazon

In Brazil, antivenom for snakebite is currently formulated in liquid form and requires storage at 4 °C. Here, a new freeze-dried trivalent antivenom, which would enable cold-chain free storage, was determined to have efficacy in neutralizing the biological activities of Bothrops atrox venoms from Manaus (Brazil) and Leticia (Colombia), exhibiting an efficacy similar to those of currently available liquid Bothrops antivenoms. These results indicate that freeze-dried trivalent antivenom may be beneficial for applications in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon regions.