Introducing Compsobuthus matthiesseni (Birula, 1905) scorpion as one of the major stinging scorpions in Khuzestan, Iran

Khuzestan province has the highest rate of scorpion sting in Iran. This is a study to identify these scorpions in Khuzestan. In this study 418 scorpions were kept in the ethyl alcohol 70, each being studied by stereomicroscopy and diagnosis key separately. 120 (28.7) Androctonus crassicauda, 104 (24.9) Hemiscorpius lepturus, 91 (21.7) Mesobuthus eupeus, 86 (20.65) Compsobuthus matthiesseni, 14 (3.35) Hottentotta saulcyi, 2 (0.5) Orthochirus scrobiculosus and 1 (0.25) Hottentotta schach were identified. H. lepturus is in the Hemiscorpiidae family and the rest are in Buthidae. C. matthiesseni is the most frequent and O. scrobiculosus is the least frequent newly identified scorpion. This study adds two new sting scorpions to the previous list of 8 identified scorpions in Iran. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A new method for venom extraction from venomous fish, green scat

Scatophagus argus argus (Green Scat) is a pretty aquarium fish. Its hard spines are venomous and can cause painful injury. In this study 60 specimens of Green Scat were collected periodically from coastal waters of Boushehr (south of Iran) from May 2011 to April 2012. Anatomical features of venomous spines were investigated. Scat venom was extracted from the spines in a new manner for keeping the specimens alive. The nature of venom was tested by SDS-PAGE. Ethical issues and animal welfare principles such as rapid and instantaneous anesthetizing, post operation disinfection and fast recovery of the specimens was practiced in order to minimize the complications. This method enhanced the purity and quantity of venom as demonstrated by 12 separated proteins in electrophoresis. New ethical issues were developed to surviving the specimens and prolong viability as well

In vitro effect of nanosilver toxicity on fibroblast and mesenchymal stem cell lines

Nanotechnology presents countless opportunities to develop new and improved consumer products for the benefit of the society . A most prominent nanoproduct is nanosilver. Nanosilver particles are generally smaller than 100 nm and contain 20–15,000 silver atoms. Despite the wide application of nanomaterials, there is a serious lack of information concerning their impact on human health. In the previous study we reported the cytotoxic of nanosilver on osteoblast G292 cancer cell line and the amount of IC50 determined as 3.42 µg/ml (Moaddab et al., Iran. Nano Lett., Vol. 1, No. 1, January 2011, pp. 11-16). The purpose of the present study is to assess the biological assay of nanosilver on two normal cell lines of fibroblast (HF2), and mesenchymal stem cells . The effect of nanosilver on these cells is evaluated by light microscopy, and by cell proliferation and standard cytotoxicity assays. The results demonstrate a concentration-dependent toxicity for the cells tested, and IC50 was determined as 6.33, and 6.68 µg/ml in mesenchymal stem cell, and fibroblast HF2, respectively. There is no significant difference between the 24 h and 48 h of cells exposure to nanosilver. The results show that Nano-Ag possesses low toxicity to normal cells and can display potential application in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy

Analysis of the active fraction of Iranian Naja naja oxiana snake venom on the metabolite profiles of the malaria parasite by 1HNMR in vitro

Objective(s): Malaria is an important parasitic disease with high morbidity and mortality in tropical areas. Resistance to most antimalarial drugs has encouraged the development of new drugs including natural products. Venom is a complex mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimalarial activity of purified fractions of Naja naja oxiana. Materials and Methods: Lyophilized venom was purified with a Sephacryl S-200 HR column and the fractions lyophilized and inhibitory concentration 50 against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 in vitro obtained. The 4th fraction was run on a Mono Q column, and activity against P. falciparum was detected by lactate dehydrogenase assay and purity by SDS PAGE. Large scale culture of the parasite was carried out with and without the active fraction on the ring stage for 48 hr. The parasites were collected and lyophilized and analyzed by 1HNMR. Chemometrics studies were performed using MATLAB, differentiating metabolites were identified by Human Metabolic Database, and metabolic pathways by the Metaboanalyst online package. Results: The active fraction from the ion exchange column had a 50 inhibitory concentration of 0.026 μg/ml on P. falciparum in vitro (P<0.001) with molecular weight of 63 kDa by SDS-PAGE and no hemolytic activity. Metabolomics studies on the two groups with and without the fraction identified 5 differentiating metabolites and a number of related pathways. Conclusion: The metabolites were succinic acid, l-glutamic acid, pyruvic acid, cholesterol, and NAD. The changes in the Krebs cycle and metabolism pathways of nicotinamide and pyruvate were noticeable. © 2020 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Surveying the scorpion sting agents at Khuzestan (a province of Iran) in 2004

Background: Seven scorpion species have been reported as human envenoming in Iran. The accurate identification of scorpion sting agents can best help the treatment. This identification also discloses the pathophysiological basis of symptoms and gives the rational for first aids implementation. The study was performed to identify the agents of scorpion sting in Khuzestan. Materials and Methods: This descriptive research was conducted on 418 scarified scorpions, preserved Ethyl alcohol (70). The census sampling was performed and the appropriate species were assigned using all morphological criteria by key identification stereo microscopy . The results of scorpion stungs were recorded on a data sheet, classified and compared based on their species and families. Results: Results showed that, 7 scorpion stungs belonged to Buthidae and Hemiscorpidae families. The recognized scorpion species during this study were as follows: Family Buthidae:Mesobuthus eupeus(91, 21.7), Androctonus crassicauda (120, 28.7), Compsobuthus matthiessenis (86,20.6), Orthochirus scrobiculosus(1, 0.5), Buthotus(Hotentotta) saulcyi (14,3.35), Buthotus(Hotentotta) schach (1,0.25)Â Â Family Hemiscorpidae: (24.9) Hemiscorpious lepturus Among 23096 scorpion stungs, the highest and lowest occurrences were in Masjed Suleiman (20.7) and Dehdez (0.44) respectively. Conclusion: This is the first report from Iran, introducing the Compsobuthus matthiesseni as the major and Orthochirus scrobiculosus and Buthotus schach as the minor sting agents. Prevention, control and treatment plan, teaching the healthcare providers and informing the community regarding the new species are suggested

Chronic Ritalin administration during adulthood increases serotonin pool in rat medial frontal cortex

Background: Ritalin has high tendency to be abused. It has been the main indication to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The college students may seek for it to improve their memory, decrease the need for sleep (especially during exams), which at least partially, can be related to serotonergic system. Therefore, it seems worthy to evaluate the effect of Ritalin intake on mature brain. There are many studies on Ritalin effect on developing brain, but only few studies on adults are available. This study was undertaken to find Ritalin effect on serotonin transporter (SERT) density in medial frontal cortex (MFC) of mature rat. Methods: Thirty male Wistar rats were used in the study. Rats were assigned into five groups (n = 6 per group): one control, two Ritalin and two vehicle groups. Twelve rats received Ritalin (20 mg/kg/twice a day) orally for eleven continuous days. After one week of withdrawal and another two weeks of rest, in order to evaluate short-term effects of Ritalin, six rats were sacrificed. Another six rats were studied to detect the long-term effects of Ritalin; therefore, they were sacrificed 12 weeks after the previous group. The immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the results. Results: Immunohistochemistry studies showed a higher density of SERT in both 2 and 12 weeks after withdrawal from Ritalin intake in MFC of rat and there was no significant difference between these two groups. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated both short- and long-term effects of Ritalin on frontal serotonergic system after withdrawal period. Iran

Isolation of Melittin from Iranian Honey Bee Venom and Investigation of Its Effect on Proliferation of Cervical Cancer- HeLa Cell Line

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the second prevalent cancer in developing countries and the sixth prevalent cancer in USA. Since conventional treatment methods are associated with detrimental side effects, searching for new drugs using natural ingredients is very important. Previous studies have shown that melittin (main component of honey bee venom) has anticancer properties along with the effect on cell membrane and activation of apoptosis. In this study, inhibitory effects of melittin on the viability and proliferation of cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) was investigated. Methods: Melittin was purified from honeybee venom using reversed-phase HPLC method. Then, biological activity of melittin was examined by hemolytic activity analysis on the red blood cells. In order to investigate whether melittin inhibits proliferation of HeLa cell, MTT assay was performed. HeLa cells were plated in a 96-well plate and treated with serially diluted concentrations of melittin for 12 and 24 hours. The viability of the cells was measured via MTT assay at 540nm. Results: Melittin showed a strong hemolytic activity (HD50=0.5 µg/ml) which can be reduced by FBS(HD50=2 µg/ml). Results of MTT assay indicated that melittin shows cytotoxic effect on cervical cancer cells with IC50 = 1.2 ug/ml at 12h incubation period. Conclusion: In this study, biological activity of melittin and inhibitory effect of FBS on hemolysis were determined via hemolytic activity analysis. MTT assay indicated that melittin induced cytotoxic effects in a dose dependent manner on cervical cancer cells and it also revealed dependence on incubation time as well