Investigations on the venom of the South Indian scorpion Heterometrus scaber

The enzymes from the venom of Heterometrus scaber, the indole compounds present and the toxic protein of the venom have been studied. The venom contains acid phosphatase, ribonuclease, 5′-nucleotidase, hyaluronidase, acetylcholine esterase and phospholipase A. The indole compounds present in the venom have been identified as 5-hydroxytryptophan, tryptophan, serotonin and tryptamine, along with two unidentified indole compounds. The venom produces hyperglycaemia in sublethal doses and this has been found to be due to increased adrenaline secretion. The toxic protein of the venom has been obtained in a pure form by (NH₄)₂ SO₄ fractionation, followed by fractional precipitation with acetone and chromatography over DEAE-Sephadex. The toxic fraction has been found to be homogeneous on acrylamide gel electrophoresis. It is a glycoprotein (molecular weight 15 000) containing 1.74% glucosamine, 0.87% galactosamine, 0.313% sialic acid, 3.25% fucose and 0.45% of an unidentified neutral sugar. It did not show any enzyme activities, haemolytic activity or inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase activity but it produced hyperglycaemia in sublethal doses. The toxic level (intravenous administration in rats) was found to be 0.72 mg/kg body weight.