I would view this with a great deal of scepticism. Venom proteins are nothing special, they are simply body proteins that have been recruited for use in the venom. The ancestral proteins are tweaked to make them more potent or to have a new activity. For example, the tiger snake prothrombin activator is about 85% identical to the human form but has over 1,000 times the affinity for prothrombin. If vitamin C was able to neutralise it, it would also be neutralising the natural version. This of course wouldn't be good! As far as the neurotoxins, the 3FTx are simply modified version of common cell adhesion proteins we have all through our body (including being used in the immune system). Yet again, if vitamin C actually had an effect, it would also have devastating effects upon the body. Since this isn't occuring, it is therefore unlikely its having any effect upon the venom either.



There is really only one proven and effective treatment for snake bite and that is antivenom. Suggestions of alternate therapies by non-specialists in the area (or non-clinicians entirely) could be potentially disasterous.



Also, isn't ten grams of vitamin C a massive amount even for a water soluble vitamin? Is it possible to get vitamin C hypervitaminosis?



Cheers

B
-----
Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry

Deputy Director

Australian Venom Research Unit

University of Melbourne



www.venomdoc.com

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