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Abstract
Snakebite accidents are part of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that affect millions of people in tropical and subtropical areas of the world, so an ethnopharmacological approach is needed to identify the secondary metabolites necessary for their treatment. Particularly the accident produced by the highly venomous snakes of Bothrops genus is characterized by blood coagulation disorders due to the existence of thrombin-like enzymes. Considering that Trixis divaricata (Kunth) Spreng. ssp. divaricata (Asteraceae) is used as antivenom in Northeast of Argentina, our interest was to determine its efficacy for the treatment of this problem. The inhibition of coagulant activity of T. divaricata extracts and essential oil was evaluated against Bothrops diporus venom. In addition, to characterize the metabolic behavior of this species, the chemical profile of the essential oil was studied., since it was the one that presented the highest inhibitory activity. The results showed that the essential oil is the most active in inhibiting the coagulant activity of Bothrops venom (about 80 %), while only the hexane extract of the leaves presents some activity. The composition of the essential oil in different vegetative stages was studied and no significant differences were found.