Protective Effect of Cobra Venom on Striatal Dopamine Depletion in a Mouse Model of Parkinsonism

A. Al. Asmari¹*, K. Al. Moutaery² and M. Abbas¹

¹Research Center Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). ²Division of Neurosurgery, Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

ABSTRACT: Venoms of cobras (Family Elapidae) are complex mixtures of toxic proteins and enzymes. These complex mixtures were thought to play key roles incuring neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. This study determined the effect of the cobra (Naja haje arabica) venom on MPTP-induced Parkinsonism in mice. Adult male mice (C57 BL), weighing 30 ± 2, were treated with MPTP (30 mg/kg, i.p.) daily for 3 days. Cobra venom (100 ml) was injected (i.p.) in doses of 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 mg/kg daily (three days) 30 min before MPTP in four different groups. Two other groups of mice received either vehicle (control) or a high dose of cobra venom (0.075 mg/kg). Two hours after the last injection of MPTP the mice were killed by decapitation and striata were collected for the analysis of dopamine (DA). Administration of MPTP significantly reduced striatal DA, which was significantly and dose-dependently reversed by cobra venom. Further studies will be of interest to explore interactions between cobra toxin and potential neurodegenerative events.

KEYWORDS: Parkinsonism; MPTP; Naja haje arabica; Dopamine; Neurotoxicity

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