Antagonistic effects of suramin against the venom of the Iranian snake Naja naja oxiana in mice

Objectives: Naja naja Oxiana with deadly neurotoxin venom responsible for many snakebites incidences in Iran. The conventional treatment for envenomation is administration of snake antivenom soon after bite. It has been reported that suramin, can inhibit the toxic effects of some snake venoms. More recently, we have shown that suramin can antagonize the deadly effect of Echis carinatus in mice. This study was conducted to evaluate the possible antagonistic effects of suramin against the venom of Naja naja Oxiana.  Material Methods: Seventy six albino mice weighting 28±/5 g were divided into nine groups (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I) of 7-13 mice and received venom and suramin in three different protocols (P1,P2 P3) with Intraperitoneal (IP) injection.Groups A, B and C as controls were received the venom at 1and 2 mg/kg and suramin at 4 mg/kg respectively. In P1, group D was treated with 2 mg/kg venom and 4 mg/kg suramin simultaneously. In P2, group E received 4 mg/kg suramin 15 min after injection of 2 mg/kg venom. In P3, group F was treated with the combination of 4 mg/kg suramin and 2 mg/kg venom, which was incubated for 30 min prior to injection. In second step, the dose of venom reduced to 1 mg/kg and injected into mice of group G,H and I according to P1, P2 and P3 respectively. Results: Groups A and B succumbed after 46 and 34 min respectively while group C remained alive. Groups D, E and F succumbed after 40, 43and 41 min respectively. Group G,H, and I succumbed after 115, 87 and 237 min respectively.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that surmain has a moderate dose dependent antagonistic effect against the low doses of N.N.oxiana venom which is less potent than its antagonistic effect against the E.carinatus venom.