Introduction: Antibiotic resistance has been reported as one of the world's most critical public health problems. Recent investigations have demonstrated that venom of some species of snakes have antimicrobial and anticancer activities. In this study, we investigated the antibacterial and anticancer effects of Persian horned viper venom. Antibacterial activity was examined on Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and antitumor effect was analyzed on human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2). Materials and Methods: Bactericidal-activity of crude venom in concentrations of 6.25-400 μg/ml was performed using MTT reduction, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), agar-well diffusion and disc diffusion methods. Tetracycline (50 μg/ml) was used as standard antibiotic. Cytotoxic effect in HepG2 cell were measured by MTT reduction assay and confirmed with neutral uptake assay following exposure of cells with different concentrations of venom (50-400 μg/ml). Apoptotic effect was investigated using comet assay. Results: Our findings demonstrated that venom displays higher inhibitory effects against Gram-positive bacteria as compared to Gram-negative. Furthermore, venom showed anticancer activity on HepG2 cell line through induction of apoptosis and necrosis. Conclusion: This study showed that raw venom of Iranian horned viper has antibacterial and anti-cancer activity. These properties make venom of this viper a potential source for isolation of effective molecule(s) having antibacterial and antitumor activity.

Background and Objectives In recent years the isolation of effective molecules from snake venom as drug to treatment of some incurable diseases is considered by many biological research centers. The aim of this investigation was to determine electrophorotic and chromatographic patterns of Pseudocerastes persicus venom and in-vitro study of bactericidal and anti-cancer properties of its fractions in human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2). Subjects and Methods The fractions of venom were isolated and collected using preparative RP-HPLC. The Bactericidal activity of fractions in 20μg/ml of protein concentration was investigated toward Gramnegative and Gram-positive bacteria using MTT and MIC assays. Then, the cytotoxic effects of fractions with higher antibacterial properties were measured by MTT reduction, neutral uptake and comet assays following exposure of HepG2 cancer cells to 20 and 40 μg/ml of protein concentration. Results SDS-PAGE pattern of the crude venom revealed 10 major bands with molecular weight ranging from 13.2 to 99.25 kDa and the separation of fractions from the venom by HPLC resulted in collection of 11 different fractions. The results of this study showed that two fractions (4 & 8) have a significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive as compared to Gram- negative bacteria. The study of the anti-cancer effect of these two fractions also showed that fraction 8 was more toxic in HepG2 cells. Conclusion We for the first time reported bactericidal and anti cancer effects of isolated fractions of Persian horned viper venom. These properties make components of these fractions a favorable source for isolation of molecule (s) with antibacterial and anti tumor activities.