Hyaluronidase, phospholipase A2 and protease inhibitory activity of plants used in traditional treatment of snakebite-induced tissue necrosis in Mali, DR Congo and South Africa

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Snakebite envenomation, every year, causes estimated 510,000 mortalities and results in more than 515,000 amputations in sub-Saharan Africa alone. Antiserum is not easily accessible in these regions or doctors are simply not available, thus more than 80% of all patients seek traditional practitioners as first-choice. Therefore it is important to investigate whether the plants used in traditional medicine systems contain compounds against the necrosis-inducing enzymes of snake venom.