Through a series of planned experiments, we were able to verify that
scorpion venom did indeed possess a certain degree of anti-microbial
activity, even in low concentrations like 12.5%. The venom also seemed to
affect the opportunistic pathogens (disease-causing organisms) like S.aureus
and B.subtilis. Therefore, very low doses of H.longimanus venom may be
used, after purification and refinement, to counter any bacteria found on the
skin and therefore be an effective agent to prevent the entry of skin bacteria.
The venom can also be used for other functions such as being a constituent
of an anti-acne cream, as in many cases of acne outbreaks, the culprit had mostly
been bacterial infection.
From the neuro-muscular experiments, the scorpion venom exhibited
the ability to hinder neural transmissions. This may suggest that scorpion
venom acts as an anaesthetic, where the neural transmissions of the nerves
are affected and the nerve is "numbed" and the subject feels no pain. A compound,
d-Tubercurarine (dTC) extracted from the Indian Arrow Plant, actually yields a
similar neuro-muscular contraction graph as that of what we had obtained in our
experiments. dTC has been confirmed to have affected the Nodes of Ranvier, and
affect neural transmission, like that of the venom we have used. Incidentally, dTC
is now used as a hospital anaesthetic, combined with other drugs like
Succinylcholine. Therefore, as the behavior of H.longimanus venom (HLV) is
similar to that of dTC, there is a good chance that HLV can in fact be used as an
anaesthetic when mixed with other drugs to increase its shelf-life.
Therefore, when applied to cuts and lesions, the venom may serve a double
purpose as a painkiller, and an anti-microbial agent to prevent the entry of
opportunistic pathogens.
These effects have been found to be effective even
in very minute doses, which are too small to affect humans adversely. Co-related
to this claim would be our tests on the effect of crude venom on mice. Even with a
concentration of 25%, the crude venom did not cause any signs of envenomation
in the mice and the mice continued to act normally. It can then be said that lower
concentrations of venom such as 12.5% can be used without any envenomation
occurring, but yet the concentration will be potent enough to function as an anti-
biotic and anaesthetic.
Lastly, in the first venom reaction test on the ear of the mice, we have
found out that venom caused blood to coagulate (agglutinate) rapidly. Therefore, if
a product containing the venom were to be applied into a fresh, open wound, we
can say that the venom will cause the blood to coagulate faster. This will help our
bodies form the "scab" sooner. The clotting of blood at a wound is a natural
defence mechanism of the body, and this will act as a first-line defence against
opportunistic pathogens like S.aureus.
As Man continue to be in search of alternative medicine from Nature,
scorpions and other primitive animals may come into the picture when
useful applications of their products are finally screened and tested. Nature,
then, holds the cure to all diseases.