Antibacterial Activity of Venom from the Puff Adder (), Egyptian Cobra (), and Red Spitting Cobra ().

(Puff adder), (Egyptian cobra), and (Red spitting cobra) venoms were tested for antimicrobial activity. This evaluation employed disc diffusion and microbroth dilution techniques. Gram-positive bacteria ( and ) and Gram-negative bacteria (, , and ) were used. Aztreonam (30 g), cefpodoxime (10 g), cefoxitine (30 g), streptomycin (25 g), ceftriaxone (30 g), nalidixic acid (30 g), tetracycline (30 g), and sulfamethoxazole (25 g) were used as controls. All tests were conducted in triplicate ( = 3). . The activity of venom against Gram-negative bacteria was significantly lower ( < 0.001) than that of controls. The efficacy of venom and sulfamethoxazole against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was not significantly different ( > 0.9999). The efficacy of venom against Gram-positive bacteria was significantly lower ( < 0.001) than cefoxitin, streptomycin, and tetracycline. The efficacy of venom against Gram-negative bacteria was significantly lower ( < 0.001) than that of controls. There was no significant difference in the antimicrobial efficacy of venom and controls against Gram-positive bacteria (=0.3927 to =0.9998). There was no significant difference in the efficacy of venom and controls against Gram-negative bacteria (=0.3061 to =0.9981). There was no significant difference in the efficacy of venom and controls against Gram-positive bacteria (=0.2368 to > 0.9999). . Of all the tested venoms, only venom showed good efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.