212 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 
Launoy ' demonstrated that the dissolved albuminoid substances (casein, 
serum-albumin of ox blood) are disintegrated by cobra and viper venom, but 
the modified molecule remains in solution after the addition of formal and 
it is no longer precipitable by acetic acid. The hydrolysis never descends 
to the peptone stage, but only to the formation of albumoses, which give 
biuret reaction. The same author? mentions the presence in cobra venom 
of a precipitant for soluble ferments. Coagulated proteins and fibrins 
are not attacked by the filtered solutions of cobra or scorpion venom. No 
tyrosinase was found in these venoms. 
Noc,’ under Calmette, has made a very interesting series of experiments 
on the proteolytic property of different venoms upon fibrin and gelatin. He 
obtained, with the fibrins of horse and rabbit bloods exposed to the action of 
venoms at 37° C. under toluol, the following results: 
TABLE 16. 
1 c.c. solution of venom of — 
Ancistrodon piscivorus ..digested 0.03 gm. of fibrin in 2 hours. 
Ancistrodon contortrix ..digested 0.03 gm. of fibrin in 2 hours. 
Lachesis lanceolatus ...digested 0.03 gm. of fibrin in 2 hours. 
Lachesis flavoviridis ....digested 0.03 gm. of fibrin in 3 hours. 
Daboia russellii ........ digested 0.03 gm. of fibrin in 24 hours. 
Naja tripudians ...... 
Naja nigricollis ...... attacked slightly on fibrin in 24 hours. 
Bungarus ceruleus ... 
With gelatin he obtained similar results. 20 per cent gelatin + 0.2 per 
cent thymol and o.cor gm. of each venom were thoroughly mixed and 
kept at 37°C. At the end of the observations the tubes were put in water 
at 15° C. All tubes with o.cor gm. of venom remained liquid. 
At the same time Noc also studied the anticoagulating property of these 
venoms upon blood in vitro and found that there is a perfect parallelism 
between the proteolytic and anticoagulating properties of these venoms, con- 
cluding that the latter phenomenon is the effect of the proteolytic substance 
of venom upon the fibrin. These two properties are destroyed at the same 
time when the venom is heated to 80° C. during 30 minutes in sealed tubes. 
It may be stated here that the citrated plasm, which coagulates on the 
addition of calcium chloride in 15 minutes, becomes incoagulable when acted 
upon by o.oor gm. of the venom of Ancistrodon piscivorus, 0.003 gm. of 
Ancistrodon contortrix, 0.004 gm. of Lachesis lanceolatus, 0.006 gm. of Vipera 
russellit, and o.co1 gm. of Naja tripudians. Noc observes that Calmette’s 
antivenin has no neutralizing power for the proteolytic principle of venom, as 
was already mentioned by Flexner and Noguchi. 
Calmette * states that the serum obtained from animals immunized with 
the venoms of Viperide, filtered through the Chamberland bougie, but un- 
heated, can effectively neutralize the dissolving action of venom on gelatin 
and fibrin. 
1Launoy. Sur l’action protéolytique des venins. C. R. Ac. des Sc., 1902, CXXXV, 4or. 
?Launoy. Thése doct. és sc. “Paris, 1903, No. 1138. 
8 Noc. Sur quelques propriétés physiologiques des différents venins de serpents. Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 
1904, XVIII, 387. 
* Calmette. Les venins. 1907, Paris. 
