Venom of the lionfish Pterois volitans

¹ Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, and the Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Extracts prepared from the venomous dorsal spines of lionfish (Pterois volitans) were investigated in mice and rabbits. Intravenous injection into mice produced death in from less than a minute up to about one-half hour. The primary action in rabbits was a fall in blood pressure, accompanied by increase in respiratory rate; with larger doses there was evidence of myocardial ischemia or injury. After injection of fatal doses a variety of electrocardiographic changes occurred and the blood pressure fell to zero; respiratory arrest occurred terminally, but artificial respiration did not prolong the life of the animal. The active material was nondialyzable and the extracts contained considerable amounts of protein. Extracts retained substantial activity after lyophilization or addition of glycerol when stored for over a year at –20°C. The mean ld₅₀ following intravenous injection into mice was about 1 mg of protein/kg.

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