Preliminary studies on the toxicity of black widow spider eggs

Abstract

Chemical and physiopharmacological studies were done on a poison found in the soft body parts of the newborn black widow spider Latrodectus hesperus. On Sephadex G-50, three major peaks were found, with most of the lethal property appearing in the first peak. On acrylamide gel electrophoresis the poison gave 9–10 bands. The i.v. ld 50 of a crude extract of the poison in mice was 0.84–4.10 mg per kg. Injection of the toxin into cats produced an immediate precipitious fall in systemic arterial pressure with changes in venous and cerebrospinal fluid pressures, certain other vascular parameters, pulse pressure, and the ECG and EEG. The poison had little effect on an isolated artery-nerve preparation, and no effect on the neuromuscular junction or on nerve conduction. It produced hemorrhages when injected i.d. The poison was not lethal when ingested.