Objective: To examine the efficacy of Silene arenosa extract on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) of krait (Bungarus Sindanus) snake venom.
Methods: The present project designed to evaluate the inhibition of AChE by following standard procedures.
Results: Statistical analysis of the results showed that Silene arenosa exerted 73% inhibition against the krait venom acetylcholinesterase at fixed substrate acetylcholine (ACh) concentration (0.5 mM). Kinetic analysis using the Lineweaver Burk plot revealed that Silene arenosa caused a competitive type of inhibition i.e. Km values increased from 26.6 to 93.3 mM (26.6% to 93.3%) and Vmax remained constant in a concentration-dependent manner. Silene arenosa competes with the substrate to bind at the active site of the enzyme. The Kmapp of venom AChE for Silene arenosa increased from 60% to 81.6% and the Vmaxapp remains constant. Ki (inhibition constant was estimated to be 48 μg for snake venom; while the Km (Michaelis-Menten constant of AChE- substrate into AChE and product) was estimated to be 0.5 mM. The IC50 of AchE calculated for Silene arenosa was 67 μg.
Conclusion: The present results suggest that Silene arenosa extract can be considered as an inhibitor of snake venom AChE.
Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Competitive inhibition; Silene arenosa; Snake venom.