Assessing the stability of historical and desiccated snake venoms from a medically important Ecuadorian collection

Bothrops asper and Bothrops atrox are important venomous snakes from Ecuador responsible for the most of ophidic accidents, which in the past were treated with a national polyvant antivenom. For years, the venom pools were collected and stored at room temperature in a laboratory. Taking into account the controversial ability of desiccated samples to retain their biological effects and enzymatic activities, we investigated the biochemical and toxicological properties of venoms after years of storage. The proteomic profiles of historical venoms analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrophoresis are very similar. The fresh batches of venom were more lethal than those stored for years, just as the initial and current LD50 values of these samples changed. Significant differences were showed in the myotoxic and hemorrhagic activity of some venom pools, while no significant statistical differences were found for the edema activity. The enzymatic assays revealed a variation in proteolytic activity on azocasein and phospholipase A2 activity, and low differences were reported for thrombin-like serine protease activity. The maintenance of the proteomic profile and certain toxicological activities convert this venom library in a valuable source for research purposes. Nonetheless, the significative reduction of toxicological activities, such as hemorrhagic activity not feasible using these samples for the antivenom production23

Edible Insects

In the tropics more than 2000 insect species are eaten. Most are only seasonally available, and the local population uses a number of techniques to harvest them. In the western world, insects are not known as food. However, alternative protein sources are needed as the agricultural land available in the world is not enough to satisfy the growing demand of meat. Among those sources are algae, mycoproteins, cultured meat, plant proteins, and insects. The nutritional value of insects is comparable to meat products. The environmental impact from rearing insects is much less than livestock production: insects emit less greenhouse gases and need much less land and water. When insects are promoted as food, harvesting more from nature is not an option and they need to be farmed as mini-livestock. The interest in the western world to use insects as food is growing. This is exemplified by the exponential growth of the number of publications as well as the number of start-up companies. Major hurdles in western countries are the creation of a legislative framework, automation to reduce the cost price, and the development of strategies to convince consumers. Consumer strategies are: an affordable price, developing tasty products, incorporating insect ingredients in familiar products and to give consumer a taste experience. Producing insects as food may become a new agricultural sector