Biological properties of the venom from the scorpionfish (Scorpaena plumieri) and purification of a gelatinolytic protease.

In this work we describe some biological properties and a partial biochemical characterization of the Scorpanea plumieri crude venom. The fresh venom induced a decrease in blood pressure, cardiac and respiratory frequency, and exhibited hemorrhagic, hemolytic and proteolytic activities. The LD(50) (i.