Does Zinc sulfate inhibit the in vitro cytotoxicity of crude toxin from Pelagia noctiluca?

Description

The Scyphomedusa Pelagia noctiluca is known to be an harmful species able to cause contact dermatitis and also systemic symptoms in sensitive subjects. Taking into account that some compounds are known to be protective agents against jellyfish venoms, in this research the protection of non-cytotoxic zinc sulfate concentrations was evaluated on cultured L929 mouse fibroblasts exposed to nematocyst crude venom at doses ranging between 60´103 and 240´103 nematocysts/ml. The results indicated that the pre-treatment with 10-6M zinc sulfate allowed a significant cell survival increase and protection after exposition to nematocyst doses from 60´103 and 180´103 nematcysts/ml. The results indicate that zinc sulfate could be a valuable protective agent in barrier creams applied to bathers' skin with the purpose to protect from Pelagia noctiluca stings.

Additional details