{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T04:19:25Z","timestamp":1790741965289,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,12]],"date-time":"2024-04-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1712880000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100016400","name":"National Research Fund, Kenya","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["REF NRF\/Ph.D.\/02\/158"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["REF NRF\/Ph.D.\/02\/158"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100016400","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold> The present study investigated the efficacy of <jats:italic>Conyza bonariensis, Commiphora africana, Senna obtusifolia, Warburgia ugandensis, Vernonia glabra,<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Zanthoxylum usambarense<\/jats:italic> against <jats:italic>Bitis arietans<\/jats:italic> venom (BAV), <jats:italic>Naja ashei<\/jats:italic> venom (NAV), and <jats:italic>Naja subfulva<\/jats:italic> venom (NSV).<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> 40 extracts and fractions were prepared using n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol. <jats:italic>In vitro<\/jats:italic> efficacy against snake venom phospholipase A<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> (svPLA<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>) was determined in 96-well microtiter and agarose-egg yolk coagulation assays. <jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic> efficacy against venom-induced cytotoxicity was determined using <jats:italic>Artemia salina<\/jats:italic>. Two commercial antivenoms were used for comparison.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> The 96-well microtiter assay revealed poor svPLA<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> inhibition of BAV by antivenom (range: 20.76% \u00b1 13.29% to 51.29% \u00b1 3.26%) but strong inhibition (&amp;gt;90%) by dichloromethane and hexane fractions of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic>, hexane and ethyl acetate extracts and fraction of <jats:italic>W. ugandensis<\/jats:italic>, dichloromethane fraction of <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic>, and the methanol extract of <jats:italic>S. obtusifolia<\/jats:italic>. The methanol extract and fraction of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic>, and the hexane extract of <jats:italic>Z. usambarense<\/jats:italic> strongly inhibited (&amp;gt;90%) svPLA<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> activity in NAV. The hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic> and the dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> strongly inhibited (&amp;gt;90%) svPLA<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> in NSV. The agarose egg yolk coagulation assay showed significant inhibition of BAV by the dichloromethane fraction of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> (EC<jats:sub>50<\/jats:sub> = 3.51 \u00b1 2.58\u00a0\u03bcg\/mL), significant inhibition of NAV by the methanol fraction of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> (EC<jats:sub>50<\/jats:sub> = 7.35 \u00b1 1.800\u00a0\u03bcg\/mL), and significant inhibition of NSV by the hexane extract of <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic> (EC<jats:sub>50<\/jats:sub> = 7.94 \u00b1 1.50\u00a0\u03bcg\/mL). All antivenoms were non-cytotoxic in <jats:italic>A. salina<\/jats:italic> but the methanol extract of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> and the hexane extracts of <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Z. usambarense<\/jats:italic> were cytotoxic. The dichloromethane fraction of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> significantly neutralized BAV-induced cytotoxicity<jats:italic>,<\/jats:italic> the methanol fraction and extract of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> neutralized NAV-induced cytotoxicity, while the ethyl acetate extract of <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic> significantly neutralized NSV-induced cytotoxicity. Glycosides, flavonoids, phenolics, and tannins were identified in the non-cytotoxic extracts\/fractions.<\/jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusion:<\/jats:bold> These findings validate the local use of <jats:italic>C. africana<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>V. glabra<\/jats:italic> in snakebite but not <jats:italic>C. bonariensis, S. obtusifolia, W. ugandensis<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Z. usambarense.<\/jats:italic> Further work is needed to isolate pure compounds from the effective plants and identify their mechanisms of action.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2024.1369768","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,12]],"date-time":"2024-04-12T04:20:11Z","timestamp":1712895611000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Exploring nature\u2019s antidote: unveiling the inhibitory potential of selected medicinal plants from Kisumu, Kenya against venom from some snakes of medical significance in sub-Saharan Africa"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Mitchel","family":"Okumu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"James","family":"Mbaria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joseph","family":"Gikunju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Mbuthia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincent","family":"Madadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francis","family":"Ochola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.4314\/bajopas.v10i2.38","article-title":"Effect of methanolicstem-bark extract of Commiphora pedunculata on plasma recalcification time of Najani gricollis venom treated plasma","volume":"10","author":"Abdullahi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Bayero J. 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