Partial purification of components from the paralysing venom of the digger wasp Philanthus triangulum F. (Hym. sphec.) and their action on neuromuscular transmission in the locust

Abstract

1. Using Sephadex G-100, Sephadex G-25 gel chromatography and SP-Sephadex C-25 ion exchange chromatogrraphy, four different biologically active preparations were obtained from the paralysing venom in abdominal extract of the solitary wasp Philanthus triangulum F. 2. Three preparations show paralysing activity in honeybees in a different way and cause, in addition to a presynaptic effect, a postsynaptic block of the glutamatergic neuromuscular transmission in an isolated locust muscle. 3. The fourth preparation causes a block of the cholinergic transmission in the isolated sixth abdominal ganglion of the cockroach (See Piek et al., subsequent article). 4. Two of the active components could be located on the cellulose thin-layer chromatogram. 5. The toxins have molecular weights probably lower than 700.