Access to immediate medical care can be vital for saving the life of envenomed victims because snake bites can be fatal if not treated quickly. Increasing the survival time after bite, could raise the chance of patients to admission medical care and the appropriate antivenin therapy on time. Echis carinatus with hemotoxic venom is one of the most deadly snakes in Asia and some parts of the Africa. Echis carinatus venom reduces most clotting factors including V, VIII, II and XIII and, by direct activation of prothrombin, affects blood coagulation that in turn causes haemostatic defect [1].Studies show that prosopis farcta which is a bushy plant and has different pharmacological effects including wound healing and antibacterial. This study was conducted to evaluate the possible antagonistic effects of alcoholic extract of prosopis farcta seeds against the venom of the Iranian snake Echis carinatus [2]. Thirty adult albino mice weighing 35±5g were divided into five groups (A1, A2, B1, B2, and B3) of 6 mice. Groups A1 and A2 as control groups, received the venom at 10 mg/kg and extract of prosopis farcta at 20 mg/kg, respectively. Groups B1, B2 and B3 were treated with different doses of prosopis farcta and venom simultaneously. The average time to death in group A1 was 81min while in group B1 which received 20 mg/kg of prosopis farcta extract, increased to 144 min. In group B2 which received 40 mg/kg of prosopis farcta extract, three mice did not die and the survival time of other three mice was 951 min. In group B3 which received 80 mg/kg of prosopis farcta extract, only one mouse died after 1612 min. It should be noted that all mice in group A2 which received prosopis farcta extract alone, remained alive. The administration route of venom and extract was IP injection. The results of this study for the first time showed that prosopis farcta has protective effect against fatality effect of Echis carinatus venom and significantly delayed time to death of envenomed mice. In conclusion, prosopis farcta can postpone the lethal effect of Echis carinatus venom, and therefore may have a potential therapeutic application in envenomating. The study still continues.

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