Abstract

Snake bites have been widely treated using plant remedies in rural areas of Pakistan.Citrullus colocynthis Schrad (Cucurbitaceae) is one of the plants used for the treatment of snake bite. This project evaluated the antivenom potential of the methanol extract from the fruit, pulp, seeds, and stems of C. colocynthis on a haemorrhage provoked by Naja naja karachiensis venom. A whole dried plant including fruit and stems of C. colocynthis was chopped and macerated to prepare methanol extract for anti-haemorrhagic testing. The reference haemorrhagic dose (RHD) and minimum effective neutralizing dose (MEND) values were determined for study extract. A dose dependent haemorrhagic response of venom was observed in a range of 0.1 to 4.0 μg/1.5 μL phosphate buffer saline (PBS) on the vitelline veins of fertilized chicken eggs (in their shells). The neutralizing response of C. colocynthis methanol extract against snake venom was valuable against venom haemorrhage and dose-dependent with a minimum effective neutralizing dose of 11 μg/1.5 μL of PBS. Methanol extract of C. colocynthis has antihaemorrhagic potential against Naja naja karachiensis venom. The present finding suggests that the methanol extract of C. colocynthis can be used to treat snake bites.

Key Words: Antiserum fertilized chicken eggs, maceration, reference haemorrhagic dose (RHD), minimum effective neutralizing dose (MEND).