Production of chicken egg yolk antibodies induced via different adjuvants for neutralization of Ghanaian Echis...

Snakebite envenomation poses a significant health threat worldwide, and Echis ocellatus, one of the highly venomous snakes in West Africa, partly contributes to this menace. Traditional antivenoms are expensive, not widely available in many endemic regions, and may cause adverse reactions, creating the need for an alternative approach to snakebite treatment. The study investigated the production of chicken egg yolk-derived immunoglobulin Y (IgY) from Echis ocellatus venom, assessed its neutralization efficacy, and compared the effects of different adjuvant treatments in enhancing high antibody titres. A sublethal dose of the venom induced an immune response in the chickens, as evidenced in the SDS-PAGE analysis, which showed prominent protein bands at approximately 70 kDa and 25 kDa. The specificity of the IgY with the venom was confirmed by the presence of a clear precipitin line between the venom and IgY wells. Among the adjuvants tested, Freund's adjuvant produced the highest IgY concentration (11.5 mg/ml) during the second immunization cycle, whilst the Alum produced the lowest IgY concentration (10.7 mg/ml). The purified IgY effectively neutralised 3 LD₅₀ (2.16 mg/kg body weight) of the venom with an ED₅₀ of 25.57 mg/kg body weight. Additionally, 320 μg of IgY successfully neutralised 3 minimum haemorrhagic doses (5.1 μg) and 3 minimum oedema doses (7.32 μg) without any signs of envenomation. The study successfully produced IgY from chicken egg yolk using Freund's adjuvant and highlighted the potential of IgY as an alternative to traditional antivenoms for treating Echis ocellatus envenomation.