Naringenin isolated from Citrus reticulata blanco fruit peel inhibits the toxicity of snake venom proteins - An in vitro and in vivo study
Srimathi Raghavan, Varatharajan Sabareesh, G. Jayaraman
Abstract
Snake envenomation is a serious hazard in tropical countries. In the current study, the bioactive compound from the methanolic extract of Citrus reticulata was purified using polarity gradient chromatography and structurally characterized by UV-spectroscopy, NMR, and LC-MS. The purified metabolite, naringenin , inhibited PLA 2 (51%) and hemolytic (59.8%) activity of the Naja naja venom. Histopathological examination and edema studies carried out using mice confirmed the inhibitory effects of naringenin . This is the first report on the inhibitory potential of naringenin isolated from Citrus reticulata . The study thus unravels the possibility for the use of Citrus reticulata metabolites as a supplement during the snake bite treatment.