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Solanum dasyphyllum belongs to the family of plants called Solanaceae, it is commonly called "Africa eggplant" and one of the medicinal plants used in the treatment of snake envenomation in the southwestern part of Nigeria, but investigation concerning its anti-venom activity has not been established. The present study evaluates the in-vitroenzyme inhibition potential of S.dasyphyllum leaf and fruit extracts against Naja nigricollis (Black-necked spitting cobra) venom. The inhibitory potential of S. dasyphyllum leaf and fruit on proteases, acetylcholinesterase, phospholipase A2 and hyaluronidase enzymes present in the snake venom was evaluated. The methanolic leaf and fruit extracts of S. dasyphyllum inhibited the activity of all enzymes evaluated, however, the leaf extract exhibited better enzyme inhibitory effect on N. nigricollis venom when compared with the fruit. This could be due to the presence of various phytochemicals in leaf and fruit extract. This result substantiates the ethnomedicinal usage of S. dasyphyllum and would help to develop potent antidote therapy against N. nigricollis envenomation.

Snakebite is a frequent accident faced by rural community's dwellers, and it has remained a neglected public health problem in many countries. Snake venom is a complex mixture of proteins, and they participate to envenomation through a diverse array of bioactivities, such as bleeding, inflammation, and pain, cytotoxic, cardiotoxic or neurotoxic effects. The only approved and accepted treatment for snakebite envenoming is the use of antivenoms produced by the purification of IgG immunoglobulins immunized against specific snake venom. However, various technological approaches are being pursued by different research groups, including the use of small-molecule inhibitors, antibody-based bio-therapeutics and peptide-based aptamer against enzymatic toxins and non-enzymatic toxins in snake venom. Modern bioinformatics tools have been recently developed to mine snake venoms, helping focus experimental research on the most potentially interesting toxins. Some computational techniques predict toxin molecular targets, and the binding mode to these targets. This review presents molecular docking studies of potential targeted key enzymes in snake venom.