Comparative functional characterization and in vitro immunological cross-reactivity studies on Daboia russelii and Craspedocephalus malabaricus venom.

Background: Snake venom is a complex mixture of organic and inorganic constituents, including proteins and peptides. Several studies showed that antivenom efficacy differs due to intra- and inter-species venom variation.

Methods: In the current study, comparative functional characterization of major enzymatic proteins present in Craspedocephalus malabaricus and Daboia russelii venom was investigated through various in vitro and immunological cross-reactivity assays.

Venomics and antivenomics of Indian spectacled cobra (Naja naja) from the Western Ghats.

Venom proteome profiling of Naja naja from the Western Ghats region in Kerala was achieved through SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC followed by Q-TOF LC-MS/MS analysis, incorporating PEAKS and Novor assisted de novo sequencing methodologies. A total of 115 proteins distributed across 17 different enzymatic and non-enzymatic venom protein families were identified through conventional and 39 peptides through homology-driven proteomics approaches. Fourteen peptides derived through de novo complements the Mascot data indicating the importance of homology-driven approaches in improving protein sequence information.

Delineating the venom toxin arsenal of Malabar pit viper (Trimeresurus malabaricus) from the Western Ghats of India and evaluating its immunological cross-reactivity and in vitro cytotoxicity.

The venom protein components of Malabar pit viper (Trimeresurus malabaricus) were identified by combining SDS-PAGE and ion-exchange chromatography pre-fractionation techniques with LC-MS/MS incorporating Novor and PEAKS-assisted de novo sequencing strategies. Total 97 proteins that belong to 16 protein families such as L-amino acid oxidase, metalloprotease, serine protease, phospholipase A, 5'-nucleotidase, C-type lectins/snaclecs and disintegrin were recognized from the venom of a single exemplar species. Of the 97 proteins, eighteen were identified through de novo approaches.

Description of a cryptic new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Kerala State of India.

We describe a cryptic new species of gecko of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch from the southern Western Ghats of Kerala. This medium-sized Cnemaspis species is differentiated from all other Indian congeners by a suite of the following distinct morphological characters: heterogeneous mid-dorsal scales, 6-7 supralabials; 113-120 paravertebral rows of tubercles; 71-85 mid-dorsal scales; absence of spine-like tubercles on flanks; subimbricate, smooth ventral scales; 135-140 mid-ventral scales; subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of manus 23-25; subdigital lamellae under fourth digit of pes 24-25; males with 7-8 precloacal pores; median row of subcaudals enlarged, smooth, a series of two large scales alternating, containing one divided scale; head and neck colouration brownish-yellow, consistent in adult males; adult females with orange coloured head and neck. Recent new descriptions of Cnemaspis species together with the present discovery show that the southern Western Ghats species have been overlooked by previous studies.

Ethnomedicinal plants used for snake envenomation by folk traditional practitioners from Kallar forest region of South Western Ghats, Kerala, India.

Background: The traditional medicinal systems of Indian folklore abundantly use medicinal plants or its derivatives for the treatment of snakebites. However, this traditional knowledge is on the verge of extinction, and there is an immediate necessity to conserve this oral traditional knowledge primarily by proper documentation and scientific authentication. The present ethno botanical study carried out among the folk medicine practitioners in the rural settle mental areas of Kallar forest region of southern Kerala, aims to document the folk herbal knowledge particularly for snake envenomation.