Evaluation of osmotic fragility of erythrocytes following injection of crude venom and extracted fractions of Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion and the effect of polyvalent scorpion antivenom to prevent these changes

Scorpion sting is one of the most important health problems in the world, including Iran. In this study, changes in osmotic fragility of erythrocytes following injection of crude venom and fractions of Hemiscorpius lepturus and evaluation of the efficacy of polyvalent antivenom to prevent these changes in rats. A total 96 rats, including the control and the second to eighth groups, received crude scorpion venom and fractions one to six, respectively. Then, blood samples were taken at 1, 3 and 24 hours after injection. Red blood cells were placed in media with different concentrations of sodium chloride and the amount of hemolysis was determined. The crude venom and the fraction two had reduced the resistance of erythrocytes to hypotonic concentrations. These two groups were challenged to evaluate the effect of antimony produced by Razi antivenom Institute. The results showed that in the groups received the crud venom and fraction 2, the resistance of red blood cells to hypotonic concentrations decreased and the curve of red blood cells changed. The fragility of red blood cells in these groups and compared with the control group showed a significant increase (p <0.05). The one-third fraction produced the least changes in the fragility of red blood cells. The level of erythrocyte fragility in the groups that received the scorpion sting antivenom did not show significant changes compared to the control group. (P> 0.05). Administration of scorpion sting antivenom has been able to significantly prevent changes in the extracellular osmotic curve of red blood cells.