VENOM OF AN AGGRESSIVE AFRICAN THERAPHOSIDAE (SCODRA-GRISEIPES) - MILKING THE VENOM, A STUDY OF ITS TOXICITY AND ITS CHARACTERIZATION

Two milking procedures, electric stimulation and lure-biting, are described and compared. The amount of crude Scodra griseipes venom collected in 3 years by lure-biting was 1670 mg and 1380 mg, respectively, for young females and adult males. The crude venom appears pure on the basis of UV-Vis spectra, which show no hemocyanin absorption bands. The toxicity and induced symptoms of these venoms in mice were evaluated by direct bites and also by LD, [LD, (young female venom, i.v.) = 8.1 mg/kg, LD, (adult male venom, i.v.) > 9.5 mg/kg]. The venom from both sexes was compared by protein content, UV-Vis and H-1-NMR spectroscopies, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis [SDS-PAGE] and size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography [SE-HPLC]. Differences were observed.