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RE: cobra venom
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by Klaus on June 10, 2001
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Since there has been in the past (and still is) much confusion about the taxonomic status of many of the Asian cobras, and since there seem to exist quite substantial variations in venom composition and toxicity even among geographic populations of the same species (take for instance Naja kaouthia from Thailand and Malaysia), your question can't be answered. What can be said with confidence is that the primary toxic component is peptide neurotoxins that tightly associate with, and thereby block a molecule on the muscle side of the junction between nerve and muscle. When these toxins are separated and purified from the crude venoms of the various Naja species, it turns out that they are all of - more or less - similar toxicity (in mice), with LD50's somewhere in the range between 50 and 150 microgram per kilogram (that is: 50 to 150 parts per million). This similarity suggests that the actual whole venom toxicity of a cobra species depends much on the relative amount of peptide neurotoxins present in the whole venom. It is this value that seems to vary considerably among species, subspecies, and even geographical populations of the same species. For example, Naja kaouthia venom from Thailand apparently contains less neurotoxin than N. kaouthia venom from Malaysia, which may primarily cause necrosis (tissue loss). The fact that the primary toxins in the cobras studied so far were very similar does not exclude that in the future, now that people have begun to dissect the cobra species, careful analysis of the composition and toxicity will hold one or the other surprise. Up until then, expecially the private herpetoculturist should keep in mind that although more than half of the cobra bites are dry, a bite - no matter from what species - constitutes a medical emergency.
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RE: cobra venom
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by Klaus on June 10, 2001
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Sorry for the mistake in my former mail. N. kaouthia venom from Thailand seems to contain MORE neurotoxins that the venom from Malaysian kaouthias, not less.
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