University of Sargodha, Department of Zoology, Sargodha, Pakistan.
University of Lahore, Department of Zoology, Sargodha, Pakistan.
Braz J Biol. 2022 Oct 3;84:e259506. doi: 10.1590/1519-6984.259506. eCollection 2022.
Scorpion venom contains a variety of neurotoxins which interact with ion channels and affect their activities. The present study was designed to evaluate the potential of scorpion venom as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor by using Aedes aegypti as model organism. Venoms of two species, Hottentota tamulus (Fabricus, 1798) and Androctonus finitimus (Pocock, 1897) were selected for this study. Two peptides (36 kDa from H. tamulus and 54 kDa from A. finitimus) were separated from scorpion venom by using HPLC. Selected peptides caused significantly higher mortality in larvae and adults of Aedes aegypti than control (no mortalities were observed in control groups). Significant acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory potential of both peptides was recorded by spectrophotometer. The peptide of A. finitimus caused significantly higher mortality (95±1.53% in larvae and 100% in adults) than the peptide of H. tamulus (84.33±2.33% in larvae and 95.37±1.45% in adults). While H. tamulus peptide was more efficient in reducing AChE activity (0.029±0.012 in larvae and 0.03±0.003 in adults) than the peptide of A. finitimus (0.049±0.005 in larvae and 0.047±0.001 in adults). It was concluded that H. tamulus venom peptide was more efficiently reducing AChE activity, thus it could be a potential bio-insecticide which can be synthesized at industrial scale for the control of harmful insects.
蝎子毒液含有多种与离子通道相互作用并影响其活性的神经毒素。本研究旨在评估以埃及伊蚊为模型生物的蝎子毒液作为乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）抑制剂的潜力。选择了两种物种的毒液，即 Hottentota tamulus（Fabricius，1798）和 Androctonus finitimus（Pocock，1897）进行本研究。两种肽（来自 H. tamulus 的 36 kDa 和来自 A. finitimus 的 54 kDa）通过 HPLC 从蝎子毒液中分离出来。与对照组（对照组未观察到死亡）相比，选定的肽在埃及伊蚊幼虫和成虫中引起的死亡率明显更高。分光光度计记录到两种肽均具有显著的乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）抑制潜力。来自 A. finitimus 的肽在幼虫（95±1.53%）和成虫（100%）中引起的死亡率明显高于来自 H. tamulus 的肽（幼虫 84.33±2.33%，成虫 95.37±1.45%）。虽然 H. tamulus 肽在降低 AChE 活性方面更有效（幼虫 0.029±0.012，成虫 0.03±0.003）比 A. finitimus 肽（幼虫 0.049±0.005，成虫 0.047±0.001）。因此，H. tamulus 毒液肽能更有效地降低 AChE 活性，因此它可能是一种潜在的生物杀虫剂，可以在工业规模上合成，用于控制有害昆虫。
