Biochemical and biological characterization of the venoms of and from Myanmar and neutralization effects of BPI cobra antivenom.

Snakebite is a neglected public health issue, with many scientific and medical issues to be solved. Cobras are among the most common venomous snakes in Myanmar and are responsible for a considerable number of severe snakebite envenoming. There are three species of cobra (, and ) in Myanmar.

Evaluation of the cross-neutralization capacity of Thai green pit viper antivenom against venom of Myanmar green pit viper.

Green pit viper (Trimeresurus sp.) bite occurred throughout Myanmar, but there is no specific antivenom produced in the country for related envenomation. Instead, Myanmar Russell's viper antivenom (Anti-MRV) was often misused because of prolonged clotting time was observed from both species.

Effects of Russell's viper venom on renal lysosomal functions in experimental mice.

The lysosome-enriched fraction of mice kidney was isolated by homogenization and differential centrifugation. Lysosomal functions, namely lysosomal enzyme activities and membrane integrities were investigated in (a) the renal lysosome-enriched fraction, incubated with different concentrations of Russell's viper venom (RVV) for various time intervals (in vitro test) and (b) the kidney homogenate of mice, which had been envenomed with different dosages of RVV and been sacrificed after various time intervals post-envenomation (in vivo test). Three typical marker enzymes for lysosome were used, namely N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), cathepsin D and acid phosphatase.