Venezuelan scientists are working on producing antibodies to treat scorpion poisoning

Published at: 08/07/2025 09:07 AM

In order to treat complications that may occur in people who have suffered scorpion stings, a team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Studies Foundation (IDEA) are carrying out research to create antibodies to generate a new drug against this type of poisoning.

Biologist Esthefany Sarmiento, attached to the Natural Toxins Laboratory of the IDEA Health Department, is one of the participants in this research, which is called “Scaling up the production of IgG and anti-scorpion anti-venoms in Venezuela”.

This young researcher explained that for this project they work with IgY technology, for this purpose, chickens are initially immunized with scorpion venom in sublethal doses, and then from the eggs, purify the IgY and an antibody they produce, antibodies can neutralize scorpion venom in people who suffer from poisoning by these animals.

He explained, according to a press release from the Ministry of Science and Technology, that among the tests carried out in this project are the purification of the egg using PEG-6000; the egg yolk is passed through various solutions and centrifuged until completely purified IgY is obtained, which is frozen and then goes through a process called lyophilization. Then several tests are applied, such as the ELISA and lethal dose 50 and neutralization tests are carried out, in order to observe its efficacy and safety in poisoning.

“Currently, we are in research and preliminary trials, because our objective is to achieve a biological drug with a Venezuelan seal, with this new method, to avoid complications in scorpion accidents,” said Sarmiento.

In addition, this biologist assured that using iGy technology is a novel and effective alternative for people who have suffered a scorpion accident and to be able to resolve their poisoning in time.

In addition, this research has ethical and bioethical contributions, because normally in the preparation of anti-scorpion drugs found in the country, they are obtained using techniques that can cause animal suffering, for example in horses, but with this new technique only eggs from laying hens are used for their manufacture.

Mazo News Team