An electrophoretic examination of cobra venoms.

The complex chemical nature of Indian cobra (Naja naja) venom was indicated by Ganguly & Malkana (1936) and Ganguly (1937), who reported its percentage composition as follows: total protein 87-56, globulin 20*31, albumin 39-69, primary proteose 11 31, secondary proteose 16-81. In addition to proteins, the venom was found to contain cholesterol, phospholipins, inorganic substances and colouring matter. The toxic principle was found to be associated with the secondary proteose. Ganguly (1936) also reported the presence of proteolytic, lecithin-splitting and rennin-like enzymes in the venom. The work recorded in this article is the result of an investigation of several cobra venoms by the method of electrophoresis.