Notes on the traditional use of plants to treat snake bite in northern Papua New Guinea

Information on snake bite treatment using plants was collected in three areas of northern Papua New Guinea. Liquid from sis plants is either placed topically on the bile site or plant parts (bark) are chewed and the sap is swallowed. However, beside tannins in the bark no secondary metabolites, e.g. alkaloids, steroids, saponins or flavonoids have been detected by thin-layer chromatography in alcoholic extracts of the plants involved rendering this type of snake bite treatment questionable. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.