Antivenom Potentials of Local Medicinal Plants Against Echis ocellatus Envenomation in Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria

Background and Objective: Snakebite injuries, majority of whom are people who live in remote, poorly developed, and underdeveloped or developing tropical regions of the world. The venom of Echis ocellatus is highly toxic, primarily comprising majorly of metalloproteinases which possess hemorrhagic, nephrotoxic, cardiotoxic, and anti-coagulant effects. This research work aimed to assess the antivenom potentials of local medicinal plants found in Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria, against the venom of E. ocellatus. Materials and Methods: A snake Charmer was used to capture the E. ocellatus and duly identified by a Zoologist. The snake venom was milked, and its lethal doses were evaluated by probit analysis. The medicinal plants were collected, and their extracts were obtained using methanol. The crude methanol extracts were screened for antivenom activity using an albino rat model. The data are expressed as Mean±SEM and analyzed by one-way ANOVA with differences separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (p<0.05) via IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Results: The lethal doses, 50% (LD₅₀) and 100% (LD₁₀₀) of E. ocellatus venom, were determined to be 0.316 mg/kg body weight and 3.55 mg/kg b. wt. respectively. The antivenom activity of some medicinal plants against E. ocellatus revealed non-significant (p>0.05) differences in mean survival time of Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst leaves, Catunaregam nilotica (Stapf) Tirveng root and Crinum ornatum(Aiton) Herb. bud,Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst root, Ficus platyphyllaDelile stembark andFaidherbia albida(Delile) A.Chev root methanol extracts compared to both normal and positive control. While M. inermisroot revealed a significant (p<0.05) decrease in mean survival time compared to both normal and positive control, and was not significantly (p>0.05) different compared to negative control. Conclusion: The findings of this study document the lethal profile of Echis ocellatusvenom and further disclose that some indigenous medicinal plants used in Aliero, Kebbi State, have potent antivenom potentials and thus can serve as a guide towards the synthesis and development of conventional antivenoms.