96

ABSTRACfS

The corresponding figures for g-strophantine were 125 mg/kg and 7~5 mg/kg. Given to two cats by slowintravenous infusion, death occurred at 200 F~g/kg and 900 pg/kg. The heart rate at first fell then increasedand became irregular just before death. It was concluded that the African poison contained a digitalis-likesubstance.

D.B.T.

EMERY, J. A. and GRnv,R. K. : Dosage death-time relationship in chicks for venom of Crotalesadamanteus . Copeia, 1, 208, 1962 .

INTRAPERrTONEAL doses of venom ranging from 1-25 mgJkg were given to 232 chicks . An inverse relationshipbetween dosage and death-time is demonstrated .

F.E.R .

PERLMUTTER-MOROZ, C., GOLDHLUM,N., GTTrER, S. and DE VRn~,A. : Effect of formaldehydeand of heat on the mouse toxicity of various snake venoms and their chromatographic frac-

tions. Bull. Res. Council Israel, 10A, No . 1, 1961 .ONE hundred LD,~ of the hemorrhagin of Vipers palestinae was inactivated by 1 :500 formaldehyde during6 days incubation at 37° C. This fraction also lost its toxicity when boiled for 15 min at pH 5 ~2. The neuro-toxic fraction of the venom was not affected by either the formaldehyde or boiling . The toxicity of the venomofEchis colorata was inactivatedby treatment with formaldehyde or by boiling, while the venom of Walterin-reeeia segyptia was unaltered by these procedures.

F.E.R .

MARKS, H. H. and OBERER,D. : Effects of snake venom on rabbit basophil leukocytes . Bioc6em.Pharmacol., 11, 9, 1962.

IN SEVEN rabbits the intravenous administration of l mg of Crotales atrox venom per kg of body weightproduced an immediate (5 min) drop in the number of circulating basophils which was followed by a peakat 1 hr . Subsequent to this rise there was a second drop in the absolute and relative basophil number whichreached an extreme from 3 to 6 hr after the igjection, and terminated in a return to nonnalacy within 12 or24 hr after the beginning of the experiment. That this treatment did not induce an artifact in the stainingprocedure and produce an apparent drop in basophil number was demonstrated by an in vitro control study.

The use of crude fractions of the venom similarly resulted in the demonstration that the biphasiacbasophil response follows the administration of the phospholipase rich material. It is suggested that thiseffect may be due to (1) an endocrine response ; (2) a secondary product formed by the action of the phos-pholipase on a non~ndocrine tissue ; or (3) a selective alteration of the basophils which would effect theirsequestration to vivo.

J.F.G .

ROGER, F., I_AMV, R, and ROGER, A.: Le pouvoir toxique du venin de vipère (Vipera aspic)pour la soupir inoculée par la voie nasale, sa neutralisation par les sérums antivenimeux

spécifiques. Ann. Inst . Pasteur, 98, 569, 1960 .

NASAL installation of the venom of Yipera aspic produces a reaction characterized by localized edema,congestion and hemorrhage. The addition of specific serum entivenin to the venom suppresses these res-ponses. (See also, VELLARD, J.: C. R. Soc. Biol., 102, 418, 1929 .)

P.B .