<i>In vitro</i> and <i>In silico</i> Validation of Anti-Cobra Venom Activity and Identification of Lead Molecules in <i>Aegle marmelos</i> (L.) Correa

Abstract

Venomous snakebite is a global serious health issue and in India high rate of mortality is caused by Naja naja (Indian cobra). To evaluate anti-cobra venom activity and identify lead molecules in Aegle marmelos, in vitro and in silico screening was carried out. Leaves, stem and root bark of A. marmelos were extracted in ethanol, methanol and hexane and maximum yield was obtained in methanol. All extracts were used for testing in vitro anti-haemolytic, inhibition of antiacetylcholinesterase and anti-proteolytic activities. The results revealed that ethanol extract of root bark has high anti-haemolytic activity, methanol extracts of leaves have the highest inhibitory effect on venom induced anti-acetylcholinesterase activity and ethanol extracts of leaves have maximum anti-proteolytic activity. Docking between 81 phytochemicals from A. marmelos and each of the 14 cobra venom toxic proteins revealed that the plant contains potential molecules for detoxification of all the cobra venom proteins.

A Contemporary Exploration of Traditional Indian Snake Envenomation Therapies

“…Ethanol, methanol and hexane extracts of leaves, stem bark and root bark of Aegle marmelos were tested by in vitro and in silico methods against Naja naja venom. Venom lethality inhibitory activity, antihaemolytic activity, antiacetylcholinesterase activity and antiproteolytic activity were presented by the extracts [212].…”

“…Various researchers have used in vivo, in vitro, and in silico methods or their combination to assess the neutralization of snake venoms by plants. The most references are available for Naja naja venom [64,74,94,96,108,173,203,212,226], followed by Daboia russelii venom [42,44,77,104,106,107,109,110,144,145,156,173]. Both these snake species are perfect representatives of their families Elapidae and Viperidae, respectively, and are the most occurring venomous snake species in the Indian subcontinent.…”

Scientific Rationality, Adoption and Perceived Effectiveness of Ethnomedical Practices on Bite Remedies in Idukki, Kerala

“…Usually phytochemicals are multifunctional as they perform more than one biochemical or pharmacological action simultaneously (Nasim et al, 2013). The synergistic effect of chemical constituents in a plant extract can successfully neutralize multi-toxicity or pathogenesis inducing factors altogether (Nisha et. al., 2018).…”