Nat Prod Sci.  2020 Dec;26(4):259-267. 10.20307/nps.2020.26.3.259.

Snake Venom Phospholipase A₂ and its Natural Inhibitors

• Singh P
• Yasir M
• Khare R
• Tripathi MK
• Shrivastava R

• KMID: 2511943
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.20307/nps.2020.26.3.259

Abstract

Snakebite is a severe medical, economic, and social problem across the world, mostly in the tropical and subtropical area. These regions of the globe have typical of the world's venomous snakes present where access to prompt treatment is limited or not available. Snake venom is a complex mixture of toxin proteins like neurotoxin and cardiotoxin, and other enzymes like phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂ ), haemorrhaging, transaminase, hyaluronidase, phosphodiesterase, acetylcholinesterase, cytolytic and necrotic toxins. Snake venom shows a wide range of biological effects like anticoagulation or platelet aggregation, hemolysis, hypotension and edema. Phospholipase A₂ is the principal constituent of snake venom; it catalyzes the hydrolysis of the sn-2 position of membrane glycerophospholipids to liberate arachidonic acid, which is the precursor of eicosanoids including prostaglandins and leukotrienes. The information regarding the structure and function of the phospholipase A₂ enzyme may help in treating the snakebite victims. This review article constitutes a brief description of the structure, types, mechanism occurrence, and tests of phospholipase A 2 and role of components of medicinal plants used to inhibit phospholipase A₂ .

Keyword

Phospholipase A ₂ (PLA₂ ); Glycerophospholipids; Snake venom; Medicinal plants; Natural inhibitors